AIADMK will protest until Anna Univ sexual assault survivor gets justice, says EPS; condemns arrest of party members

CHENNAI: The AIADMK will continue to protest and demand justice for the 19-year-old female student who was sexually assaulted inside the Anna University campus, said the party's general secretary and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS). His statement came after hundreds of AIADMK members were arrested after staging an agitation in Chennai on Monday morning.

Party chief Palaniswami took to social media platform X to condemn the arrest of his party members. “As the AIADMK is holding massive protests across Tamil Nadu demanding justice for the student who was sexually assaulted on the Anna University campus and condemning MK Stalin's government that has continuously put the safety of girls, college students, and women in jeopardy, the police are arresting and engaging in anarchic repression against our party members who participated in the protests,” he wrote.

Reiterating that his party will continue to protest until the sexually assaulted student gets justice, Palaniswami also criticised the DMK for trying to suppress the voice of the opposition party, calling it “a reflection of the people's voice.” "With the ever-expanding list of DMK members involved in criminal activities including the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy and drug mafia cases, our suspicions grow stronger that there might be some political interference in the Anna University sexual assault accused Gnanasekaran's case, as his links with the party keep coming to light," he wrote.

He further added that AIADMK would not rest until the real culprits were arrested and concluded his post with the question 'Who is that sir?', in reference to the opposition party’s campaign where they have been putting up posters with the slogan ‘Who is that sir?’ and the hashtag 'Save our daughters’ across several cities, demanding answers from the government. While the police immediately arrested the accused, Gnanasekaran, a biryani seller from Kottur, the opposition alleged that the accused was a DMK man and that one more person, with whom Gnanasekaran referred to as 'sir' and spoke over the phone, was involved in the incident.

The AIADMK’s statewide agitation to demand justice in the Anna University sexual assault case was earlier scheduled for December 27 but was deferred to today (Dec 31) following the death of former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

On December 23 night, a second-year engineering student of the College of Engineering was sexually assaulted inside the campus in Guindy. According to a complaint filed the next day, the 19-year-old girl was talking with her male friend, also a college student, when a man threatened them saying he would share videos he had shot of them. He attacked the male student and then forced the girl to perform sexual acts and recorded it on his phone. The accused, Gnanasekaran (37), a biryani seller, was apprehended a day after the survivor filed the complaint, and remanded in judicial custody.

Party workers hit roads in western districts

AIADMK cadre hit the roads in large numbers across Western districts condemning the government’s handling of the Anna University sexual assault case.

In Pollachi, around 900 party workers including 400 women were detained by police. A scuffle ensued when police took ex-minister SP Velumani, who was spearheading the protest, into custody.

Holding placards asking ‘Who is that sir’?, the AIADMK cadres shouted slogans demanding justice for the victim. They sought to bring to book all those involved in the offence.

“Crimes were less during the AIADMK regime as police were allowed to function independently. But now sexual assaults on women aged from six to sixty years have become rampant. Even women in the police force were subjected to assaults. The state government should wake up and take severe action,” said Velumani.

Similarly, AIADMK leaders including KA Sengottaiyan, KV Ramalingam, KC Karuppannan in Erode, P Thangamani in Namakkal, KP Anbalagan in Dharmapuri and KP Munusamy in Krishnagiri led the protests.

Meanwhile, Modakurichi BJP MLA C Saraswathi staged a protest blindfolded with a black cloth in front of her house at Periyar Nagar in Erode around 11 am.

223 AIADMK protesters arrested in Madurai

In Madurai, as many as 223 cadres of AIADMK including 40 women were arrested while staging a protest demonstration at Sellur.

The protest was led by Sellur K Raju, Madurai West MLA. During the protest meeting, Raju said there is no safety for women and students in Tamil Nadu. “Whenever DMK comes to power, crimes against women are on the rise.”

Raju then appealed to the State government to reveal the identity of 'sir' as mentioned by the victim of sexual assault and the government is trying to protect the accused in the case.

While Chief Minister MK Stalin boasts of delivering good governance, the High Court and the National Commission for Women have taken suo motu cognisance of incidents of crime, he said.

In Thirumangalam, the cadre led by RB Udhayakumar, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, protested and there were also protests staged in various districts of the southern region.

Also Read: 

Anna University sexual assault case: NCW launches probe, to examine facts and assess actions taken

Police seek 10-day custody of accused in Anna University sexual assault case

(With additional inputs from Bureau)