CHENNAI: Surendra Natarajan who ran the Karuppar Koottam YouTube channel and SJ Gopal, coordinator of the Hindu Tamil Peravai, have been detained under the Goondas Act by the Chennai police days after their arrest.
A senior police officer said that the action was initiated as both of them were cyber law offenders. The Chennai City Police Commissioner issued the order on Monday.
Surendra Natarajan surrendered to the Puducherry Police on July 16, a few days after a case was registered against the channel by the state unit of BJP claiming that their videos were derogatory in nature against Hindu gods and hurting the sentiments of the religion.
He was arrested under IPC Sections 153 (attacks upon religion), 153(A)(1)(a) (disharmony / feelings of enmity under grounds of religion), 295 (defilement of place of worship), 505 (1)(b) (fear among the public to commit offence against the state) and 505(2) (publishes rumour to create fear).
The next day, on July 17, the Cyber Wing of the Central Crime Branch arrested SJ Gopal, the coordinator of the Hindu Tamil Peravai, for making a video against Islam and its beliefs, linking it to the Karuppar Koottam YouTube channel.
He was arrested on charges of IPC 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), IPC 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) and IPC 505(i) (with intent to cause, fear or alarm to the public).