A senior Chennai Police officer of the rank of Joint Commissioner has been suspended after a woman colleague accused him of sexual harassment. The Internal Complaints Committee is looking into the complaint of the survivor. Senior police officer, saying that appropriate actions would be initiated as per rules and a report submitted to the Director General of Police (DGP).
This incident adds to a troubling trend of sexual assault allegations emanating from a series of fields, from government to schools across Tamil Nadu. Three teachers in a state school were arrested earlier in the week for allegedly assaulting a 13-year-old student.
In December, a woman student at Chennai’s Anna University was also allegedly assaulted on campus. Moreover, a horrific case of the purported assault of an 18-year-old woman in a moving auto-rickshaw on the outskirts of Chennai has sparked alarm.
The spurt in sexual assault cases has invited sharp criticism of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on the law-and-order front in the state. DMK functionaries have retorted that law enforcement is in good shape, noting that those involved in each of the cases have been arrested.
Tamil Nadu Law Minister S. Regupathy was optimistic about the government’s commitment to justice, stating, “Survivors have confidence in our government, that is why they come forward to complain. knowing we will bring perpetrators to book.” He also criticized the opposition AIADMK, claiming that survivors had previously been “afraid to complain” due to delays in police action during their tenure.
These instances have snowballed into a huge political scandal with Tamil Nadu preparing for the Assembly polls next year. The AIADMK and its former ally, the BJP, have targeted the DMK, particularly after it emerged that the accused in the Anna University case was associated with the ruling party.
In a recent reaction, Chief Minister MK Stalin conceded that the accused, Gnanasekaran, a roadside biryani vendor, was a DMK sympathizer but firmly denied any official membership. Asserting women’s safety, Stalin made it a point that the accused has not been protected and cases have been booked under the Goondas Act.
