Anna University case: How eatery vendor sexually assaulted a student on campus

The sexual assault of a student at Chennai’s Anna University is rocking Tamil Nadu.

The police have arrested a 37-year-old for the sexual assault, and the National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu congisance of the incident.

Meanwhile, the political blame game has begun with the BJP and AIADMK pointing the finger at the ruling DMK.

But what happened?  And what do we know about the accused?

Let’s take a closer look?

What happened?

As per Indian Express, the incident occurred on Monday night around 8 pm.

The survivor and her friend were at a secluded area on the 180-acre campus of the university when they were approached by Gnanasekaran.

The Times of India reported that Gnanasekaran intimated the student’s male friend into leaving after which he sexually assaulted her.

The Hindu reported that the victim told the police she went for a walk with her friend after dinner.

Around 8 pm, an unidentified individual came from behind them, beat up her friend and sexually assaulted her.

The student then contacted the Internal Complaints Committee for Prevention of Sexual Harassment, which asked her to contact the police.

But The News Minute quoted the FIR at the All Women Police Station (AWPS) Raja Annamalai Puram as saying that the accused filmed the survivor and her boyfriend on campus.

Gnanasekaran then threatened to send their footage to the dean and their parents if they didn’t comply with his demands.

It was then that the victim’s friend left.

Gnanasekaran then took the survivor to an abandoned road behind the Highway Lab Building and the EEE department building.

Here, he threatened her with expulsion from the university by leaking the footage to the dean – or she could “spend time” with him and another man who called him.

She said the accused received a phone call from someone. He told the person he would leave the girl after threatening her.

However, he then sexually assaulted her.

Gnanasekaran also took a picture of her college I-card and her father’s phone number before fleeing, as per The News Minute.

“Gnanasekaran approached the students and threatened them by saying he had taken their video. He then demanded that the male friend leave. The victim was assaulted thereafter. We have recovered his cellphone with evidence of the crime that he had recorded. We are now examining the device to find if there were more such crimes he committed and deleted evidence,” an officer told Indian Express.

“He also threatened the survivor by taking her phone number, saying she must meet him whenever he called her,” the officer added.

As per the newspaper, a case was registered under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The Kotturpuram all-women police then sent out four teams to apprehend the accused.

Gnanasekaran was identified as the suspect after police thoroughly reviewed CCTV footage and arrested by the Kotturpuram all-women police.

What do we know about accused?

Indian Express reported that Gnanasekaran is a biryani vendor.

As per The Hindu, Gnanasekaran, runs a road-side eatery near Saidapet near the university.

The newspaper reported that the police have said that Gnanasekaran was previously arrested for sexual assault on a girl in 2011.

The Deccan Herald reported that Gnanasekaran had assaulted another woman on the university campus.

However, it remains unclear if the case ever went to trial.

Business Standard quoted the police as saying that Gnanasekaran has a long criminal record.

The police said he has been booked in over 15 cases of theft and robbery.

Political blame game begins

Politics has already begun over the incident with the BJP and the AIADMK attacking the ruling DMK.

Some members of the opposition have claimed that Gnanasekaran is a member of the ruling party.

News18 quoted Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai as claiming that Gnanasekaran is the deputy organiser of DMK’s Saidai East student wing,

Annamalai claimed that he has pictures of the accused with top DMK leaders including Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Chief Minister MK Stalin.

“A clear pattern emerges from such criminal cases across Tamil Nadu. A criminal becomes a member of the DMK and becomes close to the DMK executives in that area. All cases registered against him are being shelved. Furthermore, he is being released without being classified as a criminal with a criminal record and without being placed on the watch list of the local police station," Annamalai wrote on X.

“Due to pressure from the respective local DMK executives and ministers, the police are not investigating the cases against him, which gives him room to commit further crimes," he added.

A senior officer told The Hindu  Gnanasekaran is said to be close to a local DMK leader.

However, he is not officially part of the DMK.

As per News18, Annamalai has slammed the police for purportedly revealing the victim’s identity.

“In the case of the female student at Anna University, what is even more intolerable is the fact that the Tamil Nadu Police has made public the details of the identity of the victim along with her residential address through the FIR copy," the BJP leader wrote in the letter.

“This heinous and imprudent act of the TN police is a blatant breach of the rights of the victim. The act seems to be a concerted effort of the TN Police and the ruling PuK dispensation to malign the victim’s character to salvage the state’s collapsed maintenance of Law and Order," the letter added.

The DMK, for its part, has denied any links with the accused.

Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathi has said that Gnanasekaran is not even a primary party member.

Regupathi said Gnanasekaran was arrested within a few hours and claimed that the government wasn’t hiding anything.

He said reports claiming that Gnanasekaran was an office-bearer of the students’ wing were wrong.

Regupathi, addressing the photograph purportedly showing Gnanasekaran next to Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, said there was a gap between the two men in the picture.

Protests on campus, NCW takes cognizance

Indian Express reported that the incident has resulted in massive criticism of the security on campus.

The campus is said to have over 400 CCTVs and even uses face-recognition software to track the entry and exit of staff.

However, no measures have been taken to keep outsiders at bay at the university which has been without a vice-chancellor since August.

The Hindu reported that affiliated to the Students’ Federation India (SFI) have protested on campus.

An SFI member pointed out that there were no restrictions on anyone entering campus through the Kotturpuram gate.

A student said it is commonplace to see outsiders sitting and having lunch under the trees on campus.

University staff have claimed that 50 per cent of the lights installed on the campus do not work.  They also said several vacancies in the estate office have not been filled – thus maintenance has not been at its best.

But University Registrar J Prakash has defended the measures.

“Surveillance cameras are also installed. Despite all that, this unfortunate incident has taken place. Additional security measures will be taken at the university level to ensure that such incidents do not repeat,” he was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

The NCW, pledging its support for the survivor, has raised concerns about the fact that the accused is a habitual offender, as per India Today.

The commission said the Tamil Nadu Police’s failure to act on the previous cases emboldened the accused to commit the crime.

The commission said this raises questions about the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu.

NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has told the Tamil Nadu’s Director General of Police to give the survivor free medical treatment and ensure her safety.

The commission also suggesting adding a punishment for repeat offenders to the accused’s charges.

Rahatkar also told the DGP to act against officers publicly revealed the survivor’s identity.

AIADMK leaders detained

Meanwhile, senior leaders of the AIADMK leaders were detained while attempting to protest the assault.

BJP senior leader and former governor Tamilisai Soundararajan was among those barred by the police from holding a demonstration.

Soundararajan, claiming that sexual crimes were on the rise, said she had every right to protest.

Soundararajan slammed the police’s ‘inaction.’

Meanwhile, AIADMK leader D Jayakumar was in a spat with police officers.

This, after they said party had not been granted permission for the protest.

Jayakumar demanded to know which parties, including Congress, VCK, and allies of the ruling party, had received approval.

With inputs from agencies