Popular Tamil YouTuber Savukku Shankar was arrested by the Coimbatore Police on Saturday for allegedly making defamatory and objectionable remarks against women police officials.
The cyber crime wing of the Coimbatore Police arrested Shankhar from Theni, and he will be brought to Coimbatore for further questioning.
The arrest was made based on a complaint by a woman sub-inspector of police.
He has been charged under Sections 294(b) (obscene acts and songs), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the IPC, Section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act, and Section 67 of Information Technology Act of 2000, Coimbatore Police said in a post on X (formally Twitter).
Shankhar allegedly had made derogatory comments during a recent online interview.
Meanwhile, the police van in which Savukku Shankar was being taken to Coimbatore, met with an accident near Dharapuram earlier in the day. The YouTuber and two police officials suffered minor injuries in the incident. They were treated at a government hospital for their injuries.
Savukku Shankar is a vocal critic of the MK Stalin-led DMK government in Tamil Nadu. He was earlier sent to six-month jail term by the Madras High Court for contempt.
He is a suspended employee of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), and runs a portal under the name ‘Savakku’ and is a regular on Tamil YouTube channels, Business Today reported.
In 2008, he was arrested by the then-DMK government for allegedlt leaking a tape containing audio conversations of two top officials. Following this, Shankar became a political commentator and exposed several scams.