Anna Univ sexual assault case: Accused Gnanasekaran found guilty; sentence to be pronounced on June 2
After the pronouncement of the verdict, Gnanasekaran was taken back to Puzhal prison amid heavy police protection.
Anna Univ sexual assault case accused Gnanasekaran (Photo: Hemanathan)
CHENNAI: Five months after the sexual assault of a student inside the Anna University campus, the Mahila Court in Chennai on Wednesday found the sole accused Gnanasekaran guilty of 11 charges including rape.
According to sources, after the pronouncement of the guilty verdict, Gnanasekaran's counsel requested a lenient sentence citing his family situation, to which the prosecution strongly objected. After hearing the submissions, Mahila Court judge M Rajalakshmi stated that the sentence will be pronounced on Monday.
After the pronouncement of the verdict, Gnanasekaran was taken back to Puzhal prison amid heavy police protection.
The chargesheet in the case was filed on February 24 by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which took over investigations from the Greater Chennai Police, who initially arrested Gnanasekaran.
On December 23, 2024, the survivor, a second-year engineering student, was with her male friend when Gnanasekaran confronted them.
Gnanasekaran first threatened the girl and her boyfriend that he would share an intimate video of them with the university authorities. He then made the boy leave and took the girl to a secluded area. He tried to intimidate her by telling that her boyfriend was being investigated by the university staff and that he would share their video with her father and college authorities if she did not do as told. When she refused to relent, Gnanasekaran sexually assaulted her and also recorded the act on his mobile phone.
He took her phone number and threatened to send the video to her father if she failed to meet him whenever he called, assuming it was the perfect blackmail tool to ensure her silence.
However, the girl refused to cower under his threat and decided to confront the situation. With help from her family and college authorities, she filed a complaint at the Kotturpuram All Women Police Station the next day, leading to swift police action, which secured Gnanasekaran, a roadside biryani vendor with a long rap sheet in his name.
