of File photo Surendra Natarajan, after surrendering to the Crime Branch, garlanded Thanthai Periyar’s statue before boarding the van on Thursday | G pattabiraman
CHENNAI/ COIMBATORE: Surendra Natarajan, anchor of the YouTube channel Karuppar Koottam, and SJ Gopal, coordinator of the Hindu Tamil Peravai, have been slapped with the Goondas Act by the Chennai police. The City police commissioner issued orders in this regard on Monday.
Natarajan surrendered to the Puducherry police on July 16, a few days after a case was registered against the YouTube channel, based on a complaint by the state unit of BJP. The complaints had claimed that the videos by Karuppar Koottam were derogatory in nature, and hurt the sentiments of Hindus. He was arrested under various sections the IPC.
In another instance, the Cyber Wing of the Central Crime Branch, on July 17, arrested SJ Gopal, for making a video against Islam and its beliefs, and linking it to the Karuppar Koottam channel. Gopal too has been booked under various sections of the IPC.
Vel symbols on roads
Coimbatore police on Sunday booked around 10 right-wing supporters and arrested five of them for allegedly drawing ‘Vel’ (a divine spear associated with Hindu god Murugan) symbols on roads and private places, without obtaining permission. They were booked under the Tamil Nadu Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act and various sections of IPC.
The premises of Kuniyamuthur police station in the city witnessed some tense moments on Monday after more than 80 people belonging to various right-wing outfits staged a protest against the police action. One State-level functionary of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, Amarnath Sivalingam, tried to immolate self but the attempt was thwarted by the police. “In Kuniyamuthur, a few cadre of BJP and VHP allegedly drew Vel symbols on the road near to a madrasa in Sathya Nagar. We removed the symbols on Sunday late night and arrested five people,” said police.
