Anna University assault case: Convict gets 30 years in jail
A Chennai court on Monday sentenced the 37-year-old man convicted of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old Anna University student after trespassing on the campus in December 2024 to life imprisonment, saying he must remain in prison for at least 30 years without remission.
Judge M Rajalakshmi pronounced the sentence, citing the severity of the crime. On Wednesday last, she convicted Gnanasekaran, five months after the assault at the premier university triggered concerns over women’s safety and state-wide protests.
Gnanasekaran was found guilty of all charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Information Technology Act, and the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act.
Gnanasekaran was brought to the court from the Puzhal Central Prison for the sentence pronouncement.
The First Information Report in the case said that Gnanasekaran forced the student to perform “sexual acts”.
Gnanasekaran, who worked as a vendor near the university, faced 20 other cases and was convicted in six of them related to petty crimes such as theft and housebreaking.
The student told police that Gnanasekaran emerged from behind after having recorded private moments with her friend on his mobile phone. He threatened to leak the video and send it to her father and the college authorities.
Gnanasekaran threatened and first physically assaulted the student’s friend, a third-year student. The student begged Gnanasekaran not to leak the video.
Gnanasekaran took her friend away, asking her to wait at the same place. He then took the 19-year-old to a secluded spot about 200 metres away and sexually assaulted her.
Gnanasekaran also took photos of her ID card and father’s number and asked her to keep meeting him, failing which he said he would release her videos.