TN: College student sexually assaulted by three men near Coimbatore airport
Coimbatore (PTI): A college student was sexually assaulted by three men near the Coimbatore international airport, police said on Monday.
The unidentified miscreants attacked and chased away the male friend of the 19-year-old student and allegedly sexually assaulted her on November 2 night, police said.
The incident near the high security area sent shock waves across the city. Police said seven special teams have been formed to trace out and nab the culprits.
Both the student and her friend have been admitted to hospital.
Expressing shock over the incident, BJP leader K Annamalai claimed that since the DMK came to power in Tamil Nadu, incidents such as these have shown that anti-social elements no longer fear the law or the police.
"From DMK ministers to police officials, there has been a disturbing pattern of shielding sexual offenders instead of ensuring justice. The DMK government has utterly failed in both preventing sexual crimes and providing safety for women," he alleged in a post on the social media platform 'X'.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
