Three people were arrested on Friday in connection with the rape of a 19-year-old nursing student in Varkala. The teenager was raped in an autorickshaw on Tuesday in the town near state capital Thiruvananthapuram. She has been in the intensive care unit of a hospital since the incident, dna reported. Varkala Circle inspector Vinod B said a medical report had confirmed she was gangraped.

The woman, a second year BSc student, knew one of her attackers, the autorickshaw driver. He and two of his friends allegedly raped her in the vehicle. She was found in a state of shock and was suffering from fits after the attack.

The incident took place soon after news broke of another gruesome rape and murder in Ernakulam on April 28. News agencies have drawn parallels between the 30-year-old brutally assaulted and murdered in Ernakulam, and the December 2012 gangrape that took place in Delhi. The state and police’s poor handling of the Ernakulam rape and murder has caused massive outrage and protests (pictured above). Police reportedly did not send a forensics team, nor did they cordon off the victim’s residence till at least four days after she was found dead near her home.

State elections are around the corner, with Kerala due to go to the polls on May 16.