Chennai, June 21 (IANS) A writ petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Inspector of Kotturpuram Police Station to conduct an inquiry into former Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai’s claim that he possessed call records linked to the Anna University sexual assault case.

The criminal writ petition, filed by Advocate M.L. Ravi — who also heads the Desiya Makkal Sakthi Katchi — has been numbered and is expected to come up for hearing before Justice P. Velmurugan later this week.

According to the petitioner, a woman engineering student was sexually assaulted on the Anna University campus in Chennai on December 23, 2024, by biryani seller D. Gnanasekaran.

The victim had alleged that Gnanasekaran confronted her while she was spending time with her boyfriend, threatened to expose her to college authorities, and coerced her into sexual submission.

Critically, the victim claimed that Gnanasekaran made a phone call during the assault, referring to the person on the other end as “sir.” The implication that someone else may have been involved triggered widespread political demand — particularly from Opposition parties — for the identity of the alleged “sir” to be revealed.

However, the Chennai Police maintained that Gnanasekaran had acted alone and had merely pretended to make a phone call, reportedly keeping his mobile device in flight mode to deceive the victim.

In contrast, Annamalai consistently asserted during his tenure as BJP state president that he was in possession of the accused’s call records, which allegedly revealed more about the case than what had been made public.

He implied that others may have been complicit in the crime. Despite these public statements, the police did not summon or question Annamalai regarding the materials he claimed to possess.

The petitioner argued that this amounted to negligence, particularly since he had formally reported the matter to authorities in February 2025. The police later filed a charge sheet solely against Gnanasekaran.

Following a fast-tracked trial, the Mahila Court in Chennai convicted Gnanasekar on May 28, 2025, and sentenced him on June 2, 2025. Even after the conviction, Annamalai reportedly continued to claim that he had access to records suggesting the involvement of others.

The petitioner subsequently lodged a formal complaint with the police on May 31, 2025, urging an investigation into Annamalai’s assertions and a probe to ascertain whether a third party — the mysterious “sir” — was indeed connected to the assault.

The petitioner is now seeking court direction to ensure that an FIR is registered and that a thorough inquiry is conducted based on his complaint.

–IANS

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