FIR: Accused filmed by Anna University, survivor threatened

The defendant in the Anna University sexual harassment case allegedly forced the university’s 19-year-old student to perform “sexual acts” on him and asked him to continue meeting him regularly, the first in the case says Sexual assault information report filed Wednesday.

BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan and others were stopped by police officers from protesting against the alleged sexual assault of a student at Anna University in Chennai on Thursday. (PTI)

The accused was arrested on Wednesday despite the National Commission for Women (NCW) taking cognizance of the case on Thursday and the DMK government facing law and order criticism from the opposition AIADMK and the BJP.

The incident came to light a day after police arrested a 37-year-old man who had barged into the campus of Chennai’s premier engineering institution to commit the crime on Wednesday.

The second-year student was talking to her male friend, a third-year student, behind a building at around 8pm on December 23 when the accused threatened her. He first attacked the male student and then sexually harassed the female student.

The student lodged a police report at the Kotturpuram All Women’s Police Station on December 24. “The victim called 100 (police helpline) and our police went to the university and arrested him on December 25,” Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner A Arun told reporters.

The accused, identified as Gnanasekaran, is a biryani dealer in Kottur, a neighborhood near the university. “Twenty cases have been initiated against the accused. He was convicted in six cases,” said the city commissioner. “All of these are minor crimes such as theft and home burglary. There are no cases of violence or sexual assault against him. So far we have not received any such complaints.”

The survivor had stated in her police complaint that the perpetrator appeared from behind around 7.45 pm after recording private moments with her boyfriend on his mobile phone and threatened to leak the video and also to her father and to send the college authorities.

“We begged him not to leak it. He then took my friend along and asked me to wait at the same place,” the FIR said. He threatened her male friend to leave, then took her to a secluded spot about 200 meters nearby and gave her three options. “When I remained silent, he got angry and started touching me,” said her statement in the FIR, in which she had detailed how he had sexually abused her.

The defendant took photos of her ID card and her father’s number and threatened her to continue seeing him. Otherwise, he said he would release their videos.

The survivor further said in the complaint that the perpetrator received a call from someone he addressed as “sir” while holding her hostage. “He put his phone on airplane mode and pretended to receive calls to scare them further,” the commissioner said.

Police investigated the case in coordination with the university’s internal complaints committee and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Cell (POSH).

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu BJP leader K. Annamalai has released pictures of the accused posing with Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and Health Minister M. Subramanian. “It has turned out that the accused of sexual assault on a student of Anna University is a repeat offender and a DMK official,” Annamalai posted on X.

He later told a press conference in Coimbatore that he would whip himself six times on Friday to protest against the crime. Annamalai also sent a letter to the NCW requesting action against the Tamil Nadu Police after the FIR was leaked and the victim’s identity became public.

“The NCW has taken immediate cognizance of the disturbing sexual assault on a 19-year-old student of Anna University, Chennai. The NCW emphasizes that the accused is a habitual offender and the Tamil Nadu Police has failed to act in previous cases,” the central agency said in a statement.

“This negligence has encouraged him to commit such crimes, which raises serious concerns about the breakdown of law and order situation in Tamil Nadu.” NCW Chairman Vijaya Rahatkar directed Tamil Nadu DGP Shankar Jiwal to provide free medical care and to ensure protection to the victim, Section 71 of the BNS, 2023, to be included in the FIR for stricter punishment and action against officials who publicly revealed the identity of the victim.

“A case has been registered regarding the release of the FIR and action will be taken against the culprits,” the commissioner said, adding that there was a technical glitch due to which the FIR was not blocked in the system.

Law Minister S. Reghupathy said that the accused was not a member of the DMK. “Anyone can click a picture with government officials. “Politicians are obliged to take pictures of people who approach them at events,” said the minister. “You can’t make wild claims with a picture alone.”

Hundreds of AIADMK and BJP cadres and leaders, including former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, protested outside the campus and were arrested. The AIADMK said it would protest in front of all district offices of Tamil Nadu on Friday over the deteriorating law and order situation.

On Wednesday, J. Prakash, registrar of Anna University, said that security personnel were deployed on the campus and CCTV cameras had also been installed, adding that security measures would be strengthened so that such crimes do not happen again. The police and the university carry out a joint security check. “Anna University has 70 video surveillance systems, 56 of which are functioning. We used that to catch him,” he said.