Lawyers, women among 8 booked for anti-CAA kolam protest

Tension prevailed in Besant Nagar on Sunday morning for a brief while after a group of activists drew kolams at Fourth Avenue around 7.30 am with messages critical of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). 

Even as they had started drawing the kolams, a police team from Sastri Nagar rushed to the spot and tried to stop them. When the activists protested, they were secured and taken to the community hall in the locality. Later, the police booked eight people, including five advocates, for organising the Kolam protest.Three advocates who went to enquire about the detention were also secured and kept at the premises till 10 am. While all of them were released, Sastri Nagar police later booked eight of them, including five lawyers, under three IPC Sections.  

The persons booked were identified as Gayathri Kandhadhai of Tiruvanmiyur, N Aarthi of Tiruvanmiyur, U Mathankumar of Ambattur, S Kalyani of Tiruvanmiyur, B Pragathy of Royapettah, V Mohan of Besant Nagar, R Pavithra of Besant Nagar, A Yogeswaran of Besant Nagar. Among them, five are said to be advocates except for Kalyani (content writer), Mathankumar (YouTuber) and Aarthi (artist). Gayathri Kandhadai later tweeted, “We have been released. A case has been filed. Our phones have been returned. We are really loving it in police state.” Meanwhile, the detention triggered a social media outrage with thousands supporting the protesters online. “What is it about kolams by a dozen women that got the TN govt to act? Is it the women? Or is it that they are finally realising how pervasive the opposition to CAA is?” posted Sharada Narayanan. The protest shifted to social media platforms as people started sharing photos of the kolams online. 

Opposition parties, including the DMK and the MDMK, came down heavily upon the police for detaining women who drew ‘kolam’ with anti-CAA messages on Sunday morning.  

“Atrocities of the AIADMK government are increasing with every passing day and the police department of this puppet government has arrested six women for drawing kolams which are nothing less than expressing your fundamental right. The women should be released immediately and the cases filed against them should be revoked,” DMK president MK Stalin tweeted. 

MDMK leader Vaiko, in a statement, said, “The police arresting women for drawing kolams against CAA in front of their houses is severely condemnable. The State government is functioning with the wrong notion that the protests taking place in a democratic manner can be culled using police force, but the government should learn from history that people’s protest cannot be put to 

end by force.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Tamil Official language and Tamil Culture, K Pandiarajan justified the detention. “The case against the women was not just for the kolams but for the messages in them, which were anti-national. Be it kolam or memes, police will always act against illegal activities,” the minister said.