MADURAI: The Principal Special Court for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act Cases in Madurai issued a non-bailable warrant against YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar for failing to appear before the court in a ganja case on Tuesday. Following this, Shankar was arrested by a police team in Chennai.
According to the prosecution, the Coimbatore police initially arrested Shankar in Theni on May 4, over a case registered against him for making derogatory remarks against women police officials in his interview to a YouTube channel. Soon after this, the Palanichettipatti police of Theni booked Shankar in a ganja case allegedly based on a search they conducted in a hotel room in Theni where Shankar and his associates had stayed.
The search had led to a seizure of 3 kg of ganja, of which 409 grams were seized from Shankar’s car, Special Public Prosecutor P Thangeshwaran told TNIE. The other persons accused in the case include Mahendran and Balamurugan, who allegedly supplied ganja to Shankar.
The Principal Special Judge for NDPS Act cases M Chenkamalaselvan had granted bail to Shankar on July 29 by imposing certain conditions. Subsequently, Shankar was detained under the Goondas Act, but the same was revoked later in September. When the matter stood thus, Shankar failed to appear before the NDPS court for questioning on December 17, Thangeshwaran said.
The special judge also dismissed the petition filed by Shankar under Section 317 of CrPC seeking to dispense with his attendance. The judge issued a non-bailable warrant against Shankar and adjourned the matter to December 20. Executing the warrant, a team of police arrested Shankar in Chennai.
From Goondas to ganja case, the saga continues
Principal Special Judge M Chenkamalaselvan granted Shankar bail on July 29 under conditions. However, the situation took an unexpected turn when Shankar was detained under the Goondas Act. This detention was later revoked in September. Despite these twists and turns, Shankar ultimately failed to appear before the NDPS court for questioning on December 17