Coimbatore police suspect the three men accused of gang-raping a 20-year-old college student on November 2 also murdered a herder the same day. The victim, M. Devaraj, 55, from Kurumbapalayam, was found dead on November 6 at Serayampalayam with blunt injuries. A log, believed to be the murder weapon, was found beside his body. Police sources said the accused—T. Karuppasamy alias Satheesh, 30, his brother T. Kaleeswaran alias Karthik, 21, and their relative M. Guna alias Thavasi, 20, from Madurai district—confessed to assaulting a herder at Serayampalayam on November 2. They were interrogated while in custody during the gang-rape investigation. Devaraj’s wife and son had filed a complaint on November 5 after he went out of contact since the previous night. Devaraj was tending to his sheep and 800 others on vacant lands. His wife, Lakshmi, last spoke to him at 10:30 a.m. on November 2. When she called again at 10 p.m., his phone was switched off. A police officer said, "Devaraj came to the deserted area with a bottle of liquor where the accused were drinking. He questioned them, and an altercation happened. They assaulted him and fled, leaving him unconscious." The body was found intact four days later, suggesting Devaraj may have died hours after the attack. Police plan to seek custody of the three accused to probe the murder further.