New details are being revealed by the minute in the horrendous Anna University sexual assault case with the accused Gnanasekaran, a repeat offender arrested for raping a second-year engineering student at Anna University, is a convicted criminal with a troubling history. The 37-year-old man, who has been involved in six criminal cases and is facing 14 others, is not only a repeat offender but also reportedly has videos of five other women stored on his phone.
One key detail in the case is Gnanasekaran’s familiarity with the Anna University campus. His wife, a contract worker at the university, gave him unrestricted access to the premises, which he exploited to target the victim. Authorities say this connection allowed him to enter the campus at will and commit the crime without being detected.
The arrest came swiftly after the complaint was filed, with city police commissioner A. Arun assuring the public that they would not tolerate such incidents, regardless of the suspect’s affiliations. He emphasized that the police acted quickly, and further investigations into the failure to block the FIR in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Networking System (CCTNS) are underway. The leak of the FIR, which included sensitive details about the victim’s identity, sparked controversy, and the police are investigating the source of the leak.
In response to the incident, Anna University is now under heightened security, with a new patrol protocol in place to ensure safety on campus. Gnanasekaran now faces additional charges, and further actions are expected as the investigation continues.
Authorities continue to protect the victim’s identity, in line with Supreme Court directives on sexual assault cases, while the investigation moves forward.
Background
On 23 December 2024, a woman, who was in a two-year relationship with a fellow student, was attacked while spending time with her boyfriend at a secluded spot on campus.
Two unknown individuals approached the couple, assaulted the boyfriend, and sexually harassed the woman. The assailants forced her to strip, filmed her without consent, threatened her, and fled the scene. The traumatized victim later reported the incident to the Kotturpuram police.
In connection with the case, police have arrested 37-year-old Gnanasekaran, a roadside biryani vendor from Kotturpuram with multiple pending cases against him. The police have filed charges under Section 64 of the BNSS and are actively investigating the matter.
The victim also lodged a complaint with the university’s POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) committee. Meanwhile, the Chennai police, in collaboration with the university, are working to enhance campus security.
However, it came to light that the accused Gnanasekaran is a repeat offender and a DMK functionary. Pictures circulating on social media show him alongside several prominent DMK leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and Minister Ma. Subramanian.
FIR Reveals Shocking Details
The shocking details came to light after the All Women Police Station (AWPS) in Raja Annamalai Puram filed the FIR, which reveals a sequence of terrifying events that unfolded on 23 December 2024, within the Anna University campus.
The FIR states that Gnanasekaran filmed the survivor and her boyfriend on the campus before taking things to a terrifying level. He allegedly threatened to leak the footage to the university dean and the couple’s parents unless the student complied with his demands.
He then forcibly took the survivor to a secluded area behind the Highway Lab Building and the Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) department building, where he presented her with three horrifying options: one, to be expelled from the university by the dean based on the footage he threatened to release; two, to “spend time” with him; and three, to “spend time” with another man who had reportedly called the accused before the assault.
The Assault
According to the FIR, after making these threats, Gnanasekaran sexually assaulted the survivor between 7:45 PM and 8:20 PM on 23 December 2024. He also took a picture of her college ID card and extracted her father’s contact information from her phone before fleeing the scene. The survivor, in her written complaint, described how Gnanasekaran had received a phone call from an unknown person, during which he mentioned threatening the girl and leaving her.
The police investigation revealed that Gnanasekaran is no stranger to criminal activity, with seven other pending cases against him, including charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for lurking house-trespass and theft. He has now been charged under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections for rape and sexual harassment.
(With inputs from Times of India)
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