In a series of arrests, the DMK government has detained several individuals from the AIADMK and Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) who protested over the Anna University sexual assault case by posting posters in prominent locations across the state with the message, “Who is that ‘Sir’? #Save our daughters.” These posters were displayed in Karur, Chennai, and Coimbatore. However, the police have actively torn down the posters and prevented cadres from putting up any such banners.
Karur Town police have registered a case against two daily wage laborers, Selvaraghavan, 64, and Mani, 64, for pasting a poster on the wall of the Karur-Coimbatore Road Electricity Board Supervising Engineer’s office and teared down the poster.
This action by the DMK has been heavily criticized on social media. The AIADMK IT wing president, Kovai Sathyan, condemned it on his social media X account, stating, “It is the job of the DMK’s police department to stop the poster that says, ‘Who is that sir?’ and to arrest the person who posted the video of the chappal beating. #Who_is_that_sir. It could be Ma Su. Ma Su means bad. A person who is in contact with a sex offender is Ma Su (bad), right?”
Similar to the AIADMK cadres’ arrests, women from the actor turned politician Vijay’s TVK were arrested for distributing pamphlets containing a handwritten letter by Vijay condemning the assault case at the entrance of VR Mall, Koyambedu, Chennai. They aimed to raise awareness about the sexual assault incident on the Anna University campus. Similarly, members of the women’s wing of the Karur District Tamil Nadu Vetri Kazhagam were questioned and arrested after presenting the letter in front of the Karur Government Arts College gate. The police raised concerns about the unauthorized distribution of the letter, causing a stir in the area.
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 assaulted 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.
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