Pseudoscience event row: Mahavishnu whisked away by police on landing at Chennai airport

CHENNAI: A day after he released a video from a foreign country stating that he was not in hiding and would meet the school education minister on reaching Chennai, 'motivational speaker' Mahavishnu was arrested by Chennai Police, within hours of him landing at the Chennai Airport on Saturday.

He was whisked away by a team of Chennai Police as soon as he landed at the airport, through an alternate exit without allowing him to interact with the horde of media personnel who were waiting outside.

On Friday, a differently-abled man, N Vijayaraj and the Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently-abled and Caregivers (TARATDAC) filed a complaint against him at Saidapet police station seeking legal action against him for expressing derogatory views against the differently abled.

The complaints pointed out the portion in his speech where he claimed that a person born with a disability is due to the sins he/she committed in their previous life. When a visually impaired teacher of the government school in which he made the speech questioned him, the speaker "Mahavishnu" chided him in front of his students and colleagues. "His speech further stigmatizes the differently abled in the society, " the complaint stated.

Mahavishnu, who runs a foundation in the name of Paramporul has been under the receiving end of the civil society after video clippings of his speech in a government school in the city went viral on social media and School education minister, Anbil Mahesh too had promised strict action for insulting his teacher.

The minister too was not spared and several citizens condemned the education department for allowing spiritual discourse in a government school and pointed out that it is unconstitutional. Two government school principals were transferred for allowing him to address the school students.

Saidapet Police booked Mahavishnu under sections 192 (provocation with intention to cause riot), 196 (1) (a) (promoting enmity between different groups), 352 (intentionally insulting someone), 353 (2) (makes statement containing false information) of the BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) and section 92 (a) of the rights of persons with disabilities act (Intentionally insulting or intimidating a person with a disability in public).