Just a day ago, one of the employees of Savukku Media and a law college student Mr. Karthik was released from the forceful custody of TN police following the court orders. Immediately after this came the unconventional arrest of the CEO of Savukku Media, Mr. Savukku Shankar.
Let's have a quick recap of the events.
On 26th April 2024, morning hours the legal correspondent of Savukku Media and a 4th year law student Karthik Govindaraj was abducted by Arandhangi (Pudukkottai district) police and kept suspense of his whereabouts till late at night. Yes, this should be mentioned as abduction as the police did not follow any proper codes in taking Mr. Karthik into custody. While all media channels kept mum about the incident, only a few reported the issue. The case alleges that Mr Karthik swindled ₹1 lakh from a person named Sathyaraj by falsely promising to arrange a job for his close associate in the secretariat and also threatening him. One must note that Mr Karthik was not absconding, the police could have summoned him over the phone, which they normally do. He could have been arrested for not abiding by the summons. It is a surprise to learn that, a fleet of police with 4 to 5 vehicles and more than a dozen personnel went in person to arrest.
It is not common for the police to arrest an individual in such cases. Even if we consider that the police are acting proactively, it is important to know that the honourable Supreme Court has directed that arrest may not be required in cases that attract punishments of less than 7 years.
As reported by Savukku Media, the arrest was not made by the Aranthangi police. It was a team from Trichy police that abducted Mr Karthik and then handed over him to the Arandhangi police. This itself raises a lot of questions. After legal fights, Mr Karthik was released right on the international press freedom day.
When journalists and people all around were happy with this news, then came the news of the arrest of the CEO. The story of ‘Savukku’ Shankar is more terrifying.
Based on the complaints lodged with the Coimbatore cybercrime about the derogatory talks on women police, the Coimbatore police arrested Mr Shankar.
What’s wrong with this?
Again this is not a normal procedure. Any person making any defaming comments must be asked for an explanation. The arrest could be made if the explanation is not satisfactory. But, again the police seem to be too proactive. They travelled to Theni, where Mr. Shankar was on a tour, and made the arrest. The terrifying part here is that the vehicle used for transportation met with an accident on its way back to Coimbatore. The personnel and Mr. Shankar were given necessary medical assistance post which he was lodged in the Coimbatore central prison. While Shankar was arrested for defamatory remarks, his employees who were assisting him were said to be booked on possessing marijuana.
Seriously?
Everyone across the state knows that all these cases and arrests are an action of revenge. Revenge for exposing several scams, revenge for speaking against the government, revenge for pointing at several prominent names in the government, revenge for not compromising and revenge for speaking the truth.
Moreover, political parties are condemning this action of the police. The principal opposition party the AIADMK has also stated that is an attack on democracy and also says that through this arrest the government is trying to divert people from important social issues such as water scarcity that prevails in the state.
In the end, this is a cowardly act from the government and a daylight attack on the freedom of speech and press.
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