Three migrant workers from Bihar have been arrested in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur for the alleged sexual assault of a migrant woman worker from Odisha.

According to the police, the alleged perpetrators met the survivor, her husband, and their child at the Tiruppur railway station on the night of February 17 when the family wanted to return to Odisha as they did not like their work in adjoining Coimbatore. However, the suspects took the family to their room, promising them jobs at the factory where they worked.

At night, police say, the suspects sexually assaulted the woman at knifepoint and threatened the couple with dire consequences if they disclosed the incident to anyone.

The Tiruppur police, after a preliminary investigation, have arrested the three and charged them with rape. “We have sent the survivor for a medical examination, and the investigation is underway,” a senior police officer told NDTV.

Tamil Nadu has been seeing a spurt in sexual offences of late. While the ruling DMK claims the accused have been arrested in every one of these cases and that trials have been expedited, the opposition calls it a clear indication of declining women’s safety, law, and order.

Yesterday, the key opposition AIADMK took to the streets, protesting the rise in sexual offences in schools and colleges, with teachers being the alleged perpetrators in a few cases.

PMK chief Dr S Ramadoss today said, “There is not a single day without sexual violence against women in Tamil Nadu. When will the police and rulers realise that their primary job is to prevent such offences rather than boast about arrests?”

“Survivors are confident and courageous to report these crimes under our rule, unlike the earlier AIADMK regime when survivors in the Pollachi sexual abuse case were scared to register a complaint and the FIR was filed only after two weeks,” said DMK leader and state law minister Sevugan Regupathy.

In December, a woman student was sexually assaulted on the Anna University campus in Chennai. Recently, three teachers in Krishnagiri were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a girl student. In Salem, three Class XI boys have been arrested for the alleged sexual assault and abuse of their junior on campus. Yesterday, seven college students were arrested in Coimbatore for the alleged sexual assault of a minor girl.