Three men gangraped a 19-year-old nursing student on Tuesday in an autorickshaw in Varkala near Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram, reported The Indian Express. Police said one of the accused, Shyju, 24, owns the three-wheeler, and the other two were his friends. Shyju was known to the victim.

The incident took place on Tuesday when the second-year college student flagged down the auto while Shyju was driving it. His friends joined them soon after, and they took the autorickshaw to a deserted place and allegedly raped her. She was rescued by passers by who heard her cries for help and reached the spot. The victim is recuperating at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. Police have registered a case against three people on the basis of the girl's complaint.

This comes only days after a Dalit law student was brutally murdered and allegedly raped in the state's Ernakulam district.