TIRUNELVELI: Editor of an online news portal was booked and apprehended by the Tamil Nadu police today based on a complaint by district collector who found a cartoon by the former defamatory.
G Bala, who had earlier worked as a cartoonist in popular Tamil magazines, was reportedly picked up by a police team from his residence in Chennai. A recent cartoon in the online news portal Lines Media depicted a child on fire while senior government officials, including the state chief minister, were shown with their eyes downcast and covering their nudity with cash bundles.
The apparent reference was the recent incident immolation by a family of four in front of the Tirunelveli district collector's office due to harassment by usury gangs.
The complaint against Bala was filed by Tirunelveli district Collector Sandeep Nanduri and the Central Crime Branch of the Tirunelveli district police have booked Bala under IPC section 501 (defamation) and section 67 of the IT Act.