Chennai Rape Case: On the night of 23 December, a shocking incident of rape of a student studying at Anna University in Chennai came to light. This incident happened inside the campus of the university where the accused raped the student. This incident happened when the student had gone near the old building of the campus to meet her friend. The accused first made a video of both of them and then threatened the student’s friend and drove him away from there. After finding her alone, the accused raped the student and then threatened her that whenever he called her, she would have to come to meet him.
After the incident, the student informed the police without any fear and called 100 and narrated the entire incident. Understanding the seriousness of the incident, the police took immediate action. With the help of CCTV footage, the police identified the accused and arrested him. The accused was identified as Gyan Shekharan, who is a former criminal. The police are currently interrogating the accused and searching for other objectionable items in his mobile.
Questions raised on women’s safety in Chennai
This incident is not just a story of misbehavior with a student but it also raises a big question on the safety of women in Chennai. Anna University campus is located in a high-profile area, with institutes like Raj Bhavan and IIT Madras nearby. There is more police vigil in this area. Despite so much security, this type of incident happened. This raises serious questions on the security system.
Crime record of the accused
When the police investigated the crime report of accused Gyan Shekharan, it came to light that he had been involved in many crimes in the past also. A case of raping a girl was also registered against him in 2011. Apart from this, 15 other criminal cases including robbery are also registered against him. Police suspect that there may be more objectionable videos in the mobile of the accused which are being investigated.
Let us tell you that many places in the Anna University campus are recognized as ‘dark spots’ where it is often considered unsafe for girl students to go. There is very little lighting in the campus at night, especially in the area from Anna Statue to the Main Gate. Many students use such shortcut routes where there is a lot of darkness at night, which creates a feeling of insecurity.
Restriction on going out on campus at night
A guard at Anna University said that girl students are not allowed to go out of the campus after 8 pm. If any student has to stay out at night, he has to take permission from the warden in advance. After this incident the political atmosphere has also heated up. Opposition party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary E.K. Palaniswami expressed grief over this incident and called it shameful.
He said that the occurrence of such an incident raises serious questions about the law and order situation in the state. Attacking the ruling party, Palaniswami said that this incident proves that law and order has completely broken down in the state.
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