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A massive political row has erupted in Tamil Nadu after a second-year engineering student of Chennai's Anna University was sexually assaulted and her male friend thrashed on campus Monday night. Police have made one arrest so far. While the Opposition AIADMK and BJP have targeted the MK Stalin government on the state's law and order situation, the DMK government has slammed attempts to politicise the incident.
Tamil Nadu's Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhian has said appropriate decisions will be taken at the university level to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
"A student from Guindy Engineering College has filed a complaint of sexual assault. The police are investigating. Appropriate decisions will be taken at the university level to ensure that such an incident does not recur," he said in a post on X.
Hitting out at Opposition parties targeting the government over the sexual assault case, the minister said, "Those who want to politicise this incident in which an individual student was victimised should note that in the Pollachi sexual assault incident during the previous regime, the victims were afraid to even file a complaint with the police due to pressure from the then rulers." "DMK government is taking swift action. Very soon the culprits will be brought to justice," the minister said.
Earlier, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, AIADMK's E Palaniswami termed the incident as "shocking" and "shameful". "The fact that a similar incident is happening in Tamil Nadu, 12 years after the Nirbhaya incident in Delhi, shows that Mr Stalin has pushed law and order to the back burner," he said. The former Chief Minister said the DMK government had taken the law and order situation to the point where women are not safe even in colleges and workplaces. "I urge Mr Stalin's DMK government to immediately arrest the culprits, ensure that they receive the maximum legal punishment, and strengthen police work for the safety of women across the state," he said.
State BJP chief K Annamalai has said Tamil Nadu has become a "breeding ground of unlawful activities" and a "haven for criminals" under the DMK government. "Women don't feel safe in the State anymore, as the police are kept busy by the ruling administration to silence the opposition. BJP Tamil Nadu has to call for a protest for the police to act if the criminal is a functionary of DMK. This is the dire state of law and order in the state," he said in a post on X. The BJP demanded that the Chief Minister take responsibility for the incident and address the people on the status of the probe.
According to the police, the student said in her complaint that an unidentified person threatened and sexually assaulted her when she was talking to her friend on campus around 8 pm Monday. The police said a 37-year-old man Gnanasekaran has been arrested. "The suspect has confessed. He runs a biryani shop on the footpath," police have said, adding that police are probing if he was involved in any other crime.
Students' Federation of India and All India Women Welfare Federation protested outside the campus yesterday. University registrar J Prakash has said the college authorities are cooperating with the cops