AIADMK Questions 'Sir' in Anna University Case; MK Stalin Defends Probe The Commune Magazine

AIADMK Questions 'Sir' in Anna University Case: The Chennai Mahila Court judgment from Monday in the Anna University sexual assault case, sentenced the convict to a life sentence of no less than 30 years in prison without remission, has prompted a spat of words between Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK party and its main Opposition party, the AIADMK.

The Court found Gnanasekaran, who was a supporter of DMK, guilty of sexually assaulting a second-year student on campus in December of last year. Mahila Court Judge, M Rajalakshmi, convicted him on May 28 and subsequently sentenced him based on 11 different charges against him and imposed a fine of ₹90,000.

Also Read: Punjab Kings' Cheeky Response to Salman Khan's Old Tweet About Preity Zinta Goes Viral; Fans Urge 'Bring Him to the Final'

AIADMK leader and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami accused chief minister MK Stalin and his government of attempting to shelter another unidentified person, who was apparently referred to only as “Sir” in the FIR, in relation to the incident.

In a post on ‘X’, the LoP reacted strongly to the verdict, “In this case, the Stalin-led DMK government undertook numerous covert actions to protect the accused, DMK's Gnanasekaran,” Palaniswami wrote in Tamil.

He added, “Defying all such efforts, through continuous struggle–from public forums to social media–AIADMK has succeeded in ensuring punishment for one of the accused in this case.”

Palaniswami said he welcomed the verdict, but questioned the integrity of the investigation. Palaniswami pointed to the "unexplained reference" to "Sir" in the FIR.

“Who is that, SIR? Who is the SIR mentioned in the FIR? Why was that SIR ruled out during the investigation? Why did the DMK government rush to conclude this case with only Gnanasekaran being named guilty? Who saved SIR?” Palaniswami's post read.

Also Read: Supreme Court to Hear Plea Over Woman’s Alleged Illegal Detention in Assam

Tamil Nadu CM fires back

In a pointed jest at the opposition, Tamil Nadu CM said they were “only pretending to care about women’s safety,” and added that the investigation was done in a fashion that led the High Court to praise the investigation.

MK Stalin's post in Tamil said, “The case concluded within just five months and resulted in a severe sentence for the perpetrator. Now that the verdict has been delivered, the Women’s Court itself has commended the police for their excellent handling of the case.”

CM further accused the opposition leaders of having “politicised” the incident, saying, “The attempts by a few narrow-minded individuals to seek political gain even in an injustice suffered by a young woman have been completely shattered by this outcome, ” Stalin added.

Also Read: Gautam Adani's Group Faces New U.S. Probe Over Alleged Iranian LPG Imports