The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Saturday formed a fact-finding committee to probe the alleged sexual assault of a 19-year-old student at Chennai’s Anna University.
The committee has been constituted on the directions of NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar.
The fact-finding committee will, reportedly, comprise Mamta Kumari and former Maharashtra DGP Praveen Dixit.
The committee members are likely to visit Chennai on Monday, December 30. They would meet the victim’s family and the survivors.
Additionally, the Madras high court on Friday ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the incident.
As per reports, the bench of justices SM Subramaniam and V Lakshminarayan also directed the Tamil Nadu government to pay an interim compensation of ₹25 lakh to the survivor for the serious lapse on the part of the police in revealing her details in the first information report (FIR). The court also asked the police to provide protection to the survivor and her family.
Notably, the FIR was reportedly published on the website of the state police.
The incident took place on December 23 when the girl was sitting with her male friend. The accused was identified as 37-year-old Gnanasekaran. He is a resident of the Kottur area near the college and is reportedly a biryani vendor. He was arrested on December 25. The accused also filmed the case and threatened her.
The girl's male friend was allegedly thrashed by the accused.
Opposition parties in the state — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the AIADMK — hit out at the ruling DMK party over the incident.
The saffron party has alleged that the accused was an officer-bearer of the DMK. As per the police, Gnanasekaran is a “history-sheeter”.
Tamil Nadu’s Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhian slammed the Opposition for staging protests against the state government.
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