YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar Arrested Again by TN Police
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Chennai, Dec 17 (NationPress) The police in Tamil Nadu have apprehended YouTuber and whistleblower ‘Savukku’ Shankar in connection with a case involving the possession of ganja.
Shankar was detained in Chennai on Tuesday after a non-bailable warrant was issued by the Special Court for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) in Madurai, due to his absence from court proceedings related to the case.
According to sources, the police in Theni district seized 2.5 kilograms of ganja from Shankar during a search operation in May of this year.
The police from Palanichettipatti in Theni subsequently initiated legal action against him.
A specialized team from Chennai police captured Shankar at his office located in T. Nagar and detained him at the Teynampet police station before transferring him to the authorities in Theni district.
Alongside Shankar, three of his associates, who are accused of supplying ganja, were also taken into custody.
On May 4, the police in Coimbatore arrested him in Theni for allegedly making offensive comments about female police officers and certain judges of the Madras High Court.
These remarks were reportedly made during an interview with the YouTube channel RedPix 24x7 on April 30. As a result, multiple FIRs were lodged against him throughout Tamil Nadu.
However, on August 9, the Madras High Court overturned the order of the Chennai City Police Commissioner to detain Shankar under the Goondas Act and mandated his immediate release unless he was required for other cases.
During the hearings concerning Shankar's legal challenges, Supreme Court Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra questioned the Tamil Nadu government's ongoing pursuit of him.
“Why are you doing all this? This is the same matter where you are after this man. He comes out, and you immediately put him behind bars,” the bench remarked.
Shankar’s legal representative argued that the journalist was “exercising his right to free speech” and that the state was “not prosecuting, but persecuting him.”
The Supreme Court had previously instructed the Tamil Nadu police not to take any coercive measures against Shankar based on the FIRs, resulting in his release in September 2024.
