Director Mohan G arrested after controversial comments on Palani temple panchamirtham

CHENNAI: Tamil film director Mohan G was arrested on Tuesday following his controversial remarks about the Panchamirtham (prasadam or religious offering) offered at the famed Palani Temple in Dindigul, as per media reports.

In an interview to a YouTube channel, Mohan claimed that pills that cause impotency in men were mixed with 'panchamirtham' at the temple.

"I heard that medicine leading to impotency in men was mixed with the panchamirtham given at the Palani temple. That news was hidden and that batch of panchamirtham was destroyed... We shouldn't talk without any proof but was there any proper explanation given? Those working there told me that birth control pills were used as an attack on Hindus," Mohan G said in the interview.

He made the remarks while speaking on the row about a lab report which stated that samples of the laddus distributed at the Tirupati Balaji temple allegedly had the presence of beef tallow, pig lard and fish oil.

Following the outrage over Mohan's statement, a complaint was filed against him at the Palani police station.

Under the orders of Tiruchy SP Varun Kumar, the director was arrested at his residence in Royapuram, Chennai, by the Cyber Crime Police of Tiruchy, and taken to Tiruchy for further proceedings.

Mohan G is no stranger to controversy. His films Rudra Thandavam (2021) and Draupathi (2020), a box office hit, have received criticism for their narratives on caste and gender.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu BJP leader Ashwathaman Allimuthu took to social media platform X to condemn Mohan G's arrest, calling it unconstitutional. He claimed that the director's family was also not informed about the reason for the arrest.

"No formal information was given to the family as to what the cause was and what the case was. This is against the Supreme Court order," he tweeted.