Chennai, Dec 13 (NationPress) The Chennai Police apprehended the prominent YouTuber and political analyst ‘Savukku’ Shankar on Saturday after forcibly entering his apartment, culminating a lengthy standoff that extended for several hours.

As reported by the police, a unit arrived at Shankar’s residence to implement an arrest related to a grievance lodged by a film producer. The allegations reportedly involve assault, extortion, and criminal intimidation. Authorities indicated that actions have also commenced against five other individuals linked to Shankar’s entourage concerning the same allegations.

Sources within the police disclosed that despite numerous attempts, Shankar declined to open his apartment door. He purportedly demanded that officers converse with his legal representatives before allowing entry, asserting that he would only comply after being informed of the reasons behind his arrest.

This led to a prolonged standoff between the police and Shankar within the apartment. Videos circulating on social media depicted police officers indicating their willingness to elucidate the case details and to present the arrest warrant if legally requested through Shankar’s lawyers.

Nevertheless, the officers firmly stated that they could not be impeded from fulfilling their official responsibilities while executing a legally sanctioned arrest.

As hours passed without any response from inside, the police enlisted the help of the Fire and Rescue Services. Firefighters were subsequently dispatched to the scene, and the door was forcibly breached. The police then entered the premises and took Shankar into custody.

Prior to his arrest, Shankar had posted a video on his social media accounts, claiming that the police were attempting to detain him in what he described as a “false and fabricated” case.

He asserted that the complaint was initiated by a film producer and noted that a summons had been issued to him in late October, to which he had already responded by rejecting the allegations.

In the video, Shankar dismissed claims that he and his associates had assaulted the producer, forcibly extracted Rs 2 lakh from him, or demanded a significant sum of money in exchange for removing a video.

“None of these allegations is true. This case has been entirely fabricated,” he stated.

Shankar further alleged that the police action was executed at the direction of a senior official, accusing the authorities of trying to intimidate and silence him.

In contrast, the police maintained that the arrest was conducted in strict compliance with the law and confirmed that further investigations into the complaint are ongoing.