Goondas Act invoked against Tamil YouTuber 'Savukku' Shankar

CHENNAI: YouTuber, whistleblower and political commentator 'Savukku' Shankar who is under judicial custody in Coimbatore central prison has been detained under the Goondas Act, based on the orders of the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) Commissioner, Sandeep Rai Rathore.

The detention order was served to Shankar at the Coimbatore prison by Inspector, Cyber Crime wing, Central Crime Branch, Chennai.

"There are 7 cases against Shankar in the CCB/Cyber Crime PS of the GCP, out of which 3 cases are Under Investigation, charge sheets have been filed in 2 cases, the remaining two cases are Pending Trial," an official release stated.

The GCP on Friday booked one more case against Shankar, based on a complaint by CMDA (Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority) for allegedly fabricating documents relating to the Kilambakkam bus terminus and circulating them.

The cybercrime wing of the city police's Central Crime Branch (CCB) had then filed a case under sections 466 (forgery), 471 (using a forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), among others.

Earlier, in February, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) had approached the City police seeking action against two technical staff, claiming that they 'leaked official information' to the press.

This is the third case against Shankar in recent times by city police in addition to the earlier cases against Shankar - one based on a six-year-old complaint and another based on a recent one. The first complaint was made by a woman journalist against Shankar six years ago for an alleged defamatory article he carried in his website against her.

Last Tuesday (May 7), Cyber crime wing of CCB registered a case under sections 294 (b) (obscenity), 354 D (stalking), 506 (i) (criminal intimidation), 509 (intention to insult modesty of woman) of the IPC, and section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women (TNPHW) Act.

Further, one more case has been registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by founder and leader of Tamil Munnetra Padai, Veeralakshmi, against Shankar and Felix Gerald, another YouTuber.

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