Anna Uni rape: women's commission forms fact-finding committee

Chennai/New Delhi: In the case of alleged sexual assault on a student of Anna University, the National Commission for Women constituted a two-member fact-finding committee on Saturday.

A statement by the body said that the commission's chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has set up the panel comprising member NCW Mamta Kumari and retired IPS officer and former DGP of Maharashtra Praveen Dixit to "investigate and recommend action,” PTI reported.

The fact-finding committee is likely to visit Chennai on December 30, 2024.

"The committee will investigate the case, examine the circumstances leading to the incident, and assess the actions taken by the authorities. It will also interact with concerned officials, the victim, her family, friends, and various NGOs to ascertain the facts and propose measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents," the NCW said.

The NCW had already taken suo moto cognizance of the incident, the victim being a 19-year-old girl. It had also issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu DGP in this regard. Dixit is also the special rapporteur for the Maharashtra and Goa zone, NHRC.

Meanwhile, Madras High Court has directed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the rape case and ordered the Tamil Nadu government to pay an interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the survivor.

The court also criticized the Chennai Police for publishing details of the FIR online, which exposed the survivor's identity. A Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and V. Lakshminarayanan clarified that the interim compensation would not affect the survivor’s right to claim additional compensation under criminal law. The court urged the Tamil Nadu government to consider taking action against the Police Commissioner for holding a press conference on the case without prior permission.