Four men from Neyveli in Cuddalore district have been arrested for the brutal gangrape of a 32-year-old woman on Friday evening. In addition to the gangrape, they have been charged with murder, for beating to death a member of the gang over turns to rape the woman.

The survivor is a widow and mother of three from Neyveli. She was returning from a grocery run with a relative on a bike when he stopped on the way to relieve himself. The five were in the vicinity drinking and spotted the woman standing alone. They immediately approached and began to harass her. When the relative attempted to stop them, he was assaulted and chased away. The woman was then dragged away to a secluded spot and gangraped.

During the course of the crime, the men allegedly got into a tussle over whose turn it was to rape the survivor and beat to death M Prakash, who was allegedly committing the crime with them. They later abandoned the women at the spot and left.

When the survivor gained consciousness she managed to make her way to the police station to file a complaint. She was then taken for a medical examination.

Speaking to TNM, Neyveli Thermal Station Inspector S Latha says, “All four accused have been arrested and sent to prison on Saturday. Two cases of rape and murder has been filed on them. The five who raped the woman were all friends.”

The accused have been identified as S Karthik (23), M Satish Kumar (23), C Rajadurai (25) and A Sivabalan (22). The deceased has been identified as M Prakash (26).

"They are under judicial custody. Their immediate arrest was crucial to ensure that there is a sense of fear over committing such crimes. What can a woman do if a simple act of buying groceries and coming home leads to such a situation?" asks the inspector. "The accused are all daily wage workers."