December 28th 2024.
On Saturday, the Madras High Court took a stern stance against the Chennai Police for publicly releasing sensitive information regarding the alleged sexual assault of a student from Anna University. The court ordered a Special Investigation Team to conduct a thorough probe into the matter and also directed the Tamil Nadu government to provide interim compensation of Rs. 25 lakh to the victim. It was made clear that this compensation would not affect any potential compensation that the victim may be entitled to under criminal law.
The High Court also expressed its disapproval of the Police Commissioner for holding a press conference without prior permission and requested the state government to take appropriate action against him. This decision was made following a letter petition submitted to the court by advocate R Varalakshmi, highlighting the safety concerns of women in the state. The court deferred the hearing until December 28 and requested a status report from the Tamil Nadu government in the meantime.
In the letter, Varalakshmi urged the court to appoint a Special Investigation Committee, headed by a woman judge from the Madras High Court, to oversee the investigation and ensure that all legal protocols are followed. Alternatively, she suggested transferring the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation to ensure an impartial investigation, free from any political or institutional interference.
The incident in question took place on the Anna University campus, where a 19-year-old engineering student and her male friend were attacked by the accused, Gnanashekaran. The victim and her friend were sitting in a secluded area of the campus after attending a midnight Christmas mass at a nearby church. Gnanashekaran allegedly assaulted the male friend and then dragged the victim to a nearby shrub where he raped her. The Chennai Police have been heavily criticized for their failure to maintain security, despite claiming to have deployed over 8,000 officers for Christmas celebrations.
In the midst of this, Tamil Nadu BJP President, K. Annamalai, has accused the police of intentionally omitting the accused from their list of rowdy individuals, despite his involvement in multiple criminal cases. Annamalai also provided evidence of the accused's close ties with the ruling party, DMK, and claimed that this was the reason for his omission from the list. He also condemned the police for leaking the FIR related to the sexual assault case, which resulted in the identification of the victim. According to Annamalai, this was a deliberate act by the authorities to deflect attention from the worsening law and order situation in Tamil Nadu. He also accused DMK of promoting a false narrative of a North-South divide to divert attention from the real issues at hand.
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