A Chennai court Today (June 2) sentenced biryani seller Gnanasekaran to life in prison for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old student at Anna University. The judge refused any leniency, stating he must stay in jail for at least 30 years.
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TAMIL NADU: A Chennai Mahila Court today sentenced Gnanasekaran, a local biryani vendor, to life imprisonment for the sexual assault of a 19-year-old student inside the Anna University campus.
The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 90,000 on him. This brutal incident took place in December last year and had caused massive outrage.
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Judge M Rajalakshmi announced the punishment in court and made a strong statement:
“No mercy should be shown to him”.
She confirmed that Gnanasekaran must remain behind bars for at least 30 years, even though he pleaded for lesser punishment by citing personal problems.
The judge firmly rejected his appeal.
Earlier, Gnanasekaran had requested a lighter sentence. He said that he had to take care of his elderly mother and his 8-year-old daughter. But the court did not accept this request, since he was found guilty on all 11 charges.
These charges included rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, and intimidation.
Judge Rajalakshmi stated:
“He must get the maximum punishment”.
A total of 29 witnesses gave their statements during the five-month-long trial. The police had submitted a detailed 100-page chargesheet in the case, which supported all the charges made against the accused.
The incident occurred on December 23, when Gnanasekaran illegally entered the Anna University campus. He first attacked a male friend of the girl and then sexually assaulted her.
What made the situation even more terrifying was that he also recorded the assault on his phone, planning to use the video to blackmail the girl later. He was arrested the same day by the police.
PREVIOUSLY IN COURT
A Chennai Mahila Court on May 28 declared Gnanasekaran, a man who sold biryani near Anna University, guilty in the high-profile sexual assault case that shocked Tamil Nadu in December last year.
The case involved the sexual assault of a 19-year-old girl student inside the university campus and had created a big political and public uproar.
The court found Gnanasekaran guilty on all 11 serious charges, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, rape, criminal intimidation, kidnapping, and certain offences under the Information Technology (I-T) Act.
The court has not yet given the final sentence, but it will be announced soon.
Judge Rajalakshmi clearly stated,
“He must get the maximum punishment since he has been convicted of all the charges.”
However, during the hearing, Gnanasekaran requested the court for a lighter punishment.
He told the judge,
“I have to look after my elderly mother and eight-year-old daughter.”
The shocking crime took place around 8 PM on December 23 of the previous year. Gnanasekaran, a resident of Kottur who ran a biryani stall close to the Anna University campus, allegedly entered the university premises without permission.
He then attacked a young female student in a secluded area of the campus. Along with sexually assaulting her, he also reportedly physically assaulted her male friend who was with her at the time.
The case caught public attention quickly and drew criticism over the security situation in educational institutions. Due to the serious nature of the incident, the Madras High Court stepped in and directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the matter thoroughly.
This SIT collected all the necessary evidence and later filed a complete chargesheet in the Mahila Court.
Soon after his arrest, photographs of Gnanasekaran with functionaries of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) surfaced, leading to a political controversy. While the DMK initially denied any affiliation, opposition parties circulated images claiming he held a position in the party. BJP state chief K Annamalai alleged that Gnanasekaran was a DMK student wing office-bearer and posted photos of the accused with DMK leaders.
Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathi refuted the claims, stating that Gnanasekaran was not a party office-bearer. Chief Minister MK Stalin, in the Assembly, too clarified that while the accused was not a DMK member, he was indeed a sympathiser.
“I assure you that the one arrested in the Chennai student case is not a member of DMK. He is a DMK sympathiser, we don’t deny it,”
-Stalin said.
Gnanasekaran had earlier filed a petition seeking release from the case, claiming there was no evidence against him and that his arrest was based on suspicion. Tamil Nadu Police filed a counterpetition, and arguments from both sides were placed before the court.
As per the Madras High Court’s direction, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to probe the case. The SIT later filed a chargesheet in the Mahila Court.
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