Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai staged a dramatic protest on Friday, whipping himself outside his residence in Coimbatore to demand justice for a sexual assault case at Anna University. A video of the protest, which drew a crowd of supporters, has gone viral on social media.

On Thursday, Annamalai announced his intention to lash himself six times with a whip at 10 am on December 27 to highlight what he described as the “apathy” of the Tamil Nadu government and police in addressing crimes against women. He further vowed to walk barefoot until the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) regime is removed from power.

During a press conference, Annamalai alleged that the accused, Gnanasekaran, was linked to the DMK as a student wing office-bearer. He presented photographs purportedly showing the accused with DMK leaders to support his claim. However, Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathi refuted the allegations, stating that the accused was not even a primary member of the DMK.

The BJP leader accused the DMK government of shielding the accused, delaying police action, and misusing Nirbhaya funds intended to prevent such crimes. He also criticized the drafting of the First Information Report (FIR), claiming it unfairly portrayed the victim as culpable.

The case involves a female student from Anna University’s College of Engineering, Guindy, who reported being sexually assaulted on December 23 around 8 pm while on campus with a male friend. Following the complaint, the police formed four teams and arrested the accused, a 37-year-old man named Gnanasekaran, who operates a biryani stall near the college.

Police stated that the arrest was based on “scientific evidence” and that the accused had confessed. Investigations are ongoing to determine whether he is connected to other crimes. The university’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) is cooperating with the probe.