CHENNAI: A 28-year-old man was allegedly killed by his friend for uploading a casteist TikTok video that the duo had made. The video, that had targeted an oppressed community, had caused unrest among members of the community in the village of Thalambedu at Tiruvallur.
A police officer said Venkataram, 31 and his friend Shiva, 29, both daily labourers, belong to a dominant community. They recently made a TikTok video depicting the other community in bad light.
A few days later, Shiva allegedly uploaded the video to social networking sites and it went viral. A few people, belonging to the oppressed community in the same village, staged a protest in front of Venkataram’s house and lodged a police complaint, calling for action against the duo. Meanwhile, Venkataram’s family informed him that the police were looking for him.
Realising they might end up behind bars, the duo went into hiding. In an effort to draw them out, police detained Venkatram’s father for questioning. This irked Venkatram who became angry at Shiva for uploading the video. He allegedly struck an inebriated Shiva with a blunt instrument, killing him. He then surrendered at the Tiruttani police station, where he was booked under Section 302 (murder) of IPC. Further investigations are on.
TikTok trouble
February 9, 2019: A 19-year-old painter was arrested by the police for creating a fun video clip on the 'TikTok' app showing him walking outside a police station. The video went viral.
January 25, 2019: Two men were arrested from Salem for shooting a similar video using a police jeep.
January 13, 2019: Four men were arrested from Virudhunagar for making a video outside a police station.