Chennai: A political storm has erupted just days after a biryani vendor was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 19-year-old student on the campus of Chennai’s Anna University. Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai staged a dramatic protest Friday, whipping himself. A day earlier, he had vowed to remain barefoot until the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is ousted from power.
At around 10 am Friday morning, Annamalai whipped himself at least six times with a rope outside his residence in Coimbatore. On Thursday, he had alleged that the accused belonged to the DMK and pledged to go without footwear.
“Look at the state of the law & order in the state. A repeated offender like Gnanasekaran (the accused) was not on the rowdy list because of his connection with DMK leaders,” he alleged at a press conference in Coimbatore Thursday.
A second-year engineering student filed a complaint with the Greater Chennai Police on 24 December alleging that she was assaulted inside the university campus by a stranger in front of her male friend the evening before.
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Police subsequently launched an inquiry, leading to the arrest of Kottur resident Gnanasekaran, 37, who ran a biryani stall on a sidewalk near campus and allegedly confessed to the crime after interrogation by the police. He was arrested Wednesday.
The issue took a political turn after photos of the accused putting a shawl on Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin were shared by BJP members.
Annamalai further lashed out at the Tamil Nadu Police after the FIR, which contained the details of the victim and her identity, was leaked to the press.
Earlier Thursday, local TV channels aired the contents of the FIR, filed by the victim, according to which the accused had also threatened to make the video of the assault public.
Annamalai added, “I could not even read the FIR, it was so cruel. I feel ashamed of the incident. Had I been a common man, I would have reacted to it in a different way. Just because I am the president of a party, I am speaking with dignity.”
Alleging that unlawful activities were proliferating in Tamil Nadu, he added, “Police are being used only to silence the opposition. Had they all acted whenever there was a law & order situation, a criminal like him would not be wandering free.”
He demanded that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin take responsibility for the incident and give an update on the status of the case.
State Law Minister S. Regupathy denied allegations that the accused belonged to DMK. He told the media: “The accused is neither a member nor a volunteer of the party. He never held any position in the party. Just because someone has taken photos with our deputy chief minister, it does not mean they are members of our party.”
Furthermore, Greater Chennai Police Commissioner A. Arun told the media that the leak of an FIR in the sexual assault case is a crime.
“Action will be taken to identify the person responsible for leaking the document,” he said, adding that a case has been registered in this regard.
Also Read: Owner of a biryani stall arrested for ‘sexually assaulting’ student of Chennai’s Anna University
AIADMK holds road roko protest
The DMK government also received flak over the incident occurring in the heart of the city.
The opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), led by former minister D. Jayakumar, held a road roko protest near the university campus in Chennai.
Condemning the incident, AIADMK general secretary and leader of Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami described it as a “shocking” and “shameful” incident.
He also slammed the DMK government for failing to maintain law and order in the state.
“Law & Order situation has deteriorated under the Chief Minister MK Stalin’s administration. Women are not safe even in their education institutions under the current regime,” he said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Palaniswami slammed DMK for ignoring the voices of the opposition.
“Whenever I pointed out the lapses in the law and order situation in the state, the ruling government was not only keen on opposing my statements, the DMK leader had even ignored my wake-up calls during the past events. Had they acted during the previous incidents, such an unfortunate situation could have been avoided,” he said in his statement.
Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhiaan denied any security lapses inside the university premises and said that the issue is being politicised for the benefit of the individuals. “There is not an inch of truth in it. The accused was arrested hours after the complaint. There was not even a lapse in arrest,” he told the media.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
