'Women lack security': AIADMK general secretary criticises Tamil Nadu govt on student sexual assault case

CHENNAI: Claiming that people, particularly girls and women, lacked safety and security under the present regime in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday sought to know what prevented the state government from transferring the sexual assault on college student case to the CBI for an impartial inquiry.

Flaying the ruling DMK over the handling of the case, Palaniswami said the frequent explanations by some of the state ministers on the issue only indicated that an attempt was being made to shield someone in the case.

Speaking to reporters here, the former chief minister questioned the identity of the person whom the arrested suspect Gnanasekaran addressed as 'sir' and demanded that the real perpetrator be arrested soon. "I had transferred the Pollachi sexual assault case to the CBI when I was the CM. What's stopping the state government from handing over the case to the CBI? Are they afraid of something?" Palaniswami asked.

The AIADMK had launched a protest based on the student's complaint with the police, he said.

"People, especially girls and women, don't have security...AIADMK will surely come to power again and will end all the problems," the AIADMK general secretary said. Hitting out at Palaniswami, State Law Minister S Regupathy accused the former of creating a sense of fear among students to show his political presence.