Anna University sexual assault case: BJP has alleged links with Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK responds

Last update:December 26, 2024, 2:34 PM IST

Anna University sexual assault case: The BJP has claimed that the arrested accused is a “repeat offender” from DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu.

Anna University sexual assault case: BJP shares photo of accused with Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin

Amid massive outrage and political infighting over the Anna University campus sexual assault case in Chennai, the BJP has claimed that the arrested accused is a “repeat offender” from Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK.

The row broke out after a 19-year-old student a Anna University she was sexually assaulted and her boyfriend was assaulted by two unidentified men in the Chennai campus. The incident took place on the evening of December 23 and came to the fore after the victim lodged a complaint with the police on Tuesday.

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai alleged that the accused was involved in similar crimes in the past and shared his photographs with top DMK leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Gnanasekaran, the arrested accused, is the deputy organizer of DMK’s Saidai East student wing, the BJP leader claimed. The accused was remanded for 15 days following a massive protest demanding legal action against him.

“A clear pattern emerges from such criminal cases in Tamil Nadu. A criminal becomes a DMK member and becomes close to DMK executives in that area. All cases registered against him are closed. Moreover, he is released without being classified as a criminal offender and without being placed on the watch list of the local police station,” Annamalai claimed in an X post.

“Due to pressure from local DMK leaders and ministers, the police are not investigating the cases against him, which is allowing him to commit new crimes,” he added.

Accused is not a DMK member: Minister

The accused in the university student sexual assault case is not even a senior member of the DMK, Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathi said on Thursday.

On the photograph of the accused with MLA Stalin’s son, the minister said there was a clear gap between Gnanasekaran and the Deputy CM and pointed out that the picture was clicked by someone and such cases cannot be prevented.

He added that the accused was arrested within five to six hours, showing the quick action of the police and the government did not need to hide anything, he told reporters.

AIADMK says cops are ‘covering up’ the case

The main opposition party in Tamil Nadu, also the AIADMK, trained guns on the ruling party over the sexual assault case and called the DMK a “bunch of anti-social elements”.

“DMK is a den of anti-social elements who corrupt the society and indulge in all kinds of criminal activities,” said Leader of Opposition in the Assembly E Palaniswami.

AIADMK leader Kovai Sathyan was speaking to CNN-News18 condemned the incident and accused the state police of covering up the case. “We condemn the case of Anna University. There is a massive cover-up by the police,” the leader said.

Sathyan’s remark came after several reports claimed that many CCTV cameras in the university premises were found to be non-functional. However, the police said they have arrested one accused based on the available CCTV footage.

Police said the victim, who used to sell biryani on the roadside outside the university, has confessed to the crime and further investigation to trace his involvement in the earlier cases is underway.

A joint security assessment will be undertaken by the Greater Chennai Police and university security officials and appropriate steps will be taken to improve the security of students, an official said.

Cops leaked the identity of the victim: Annamalai

On behalf of the Tamil Nadu BJP unit, Annamalai on Thursday wrote a letter to the National Commission for Women (NCW), accusing the Tamil Nadu police of leaking details of the victim through the first intelligence report.

“In the case of the Anna University student, what is even more intolerable is that the Tamil Nadu Police has released the identity details of the victim along with her home address through the copy of the FIR. This heinous and reckless act by the TN Police is a blatant violation of the victim’s rights. The act appears to be a concerted effort by the TN police and the PuK dispensation to denigrate the character of the victim to save the collapsed maintenance of law and order by the state,” the letter said.

“It is disheartening that these perpetrators of crimes against women are influencing the Tamil Nadu police force with the fullest support of local DMK leaders, MLAs and ministers,” Annamalai added.