On May 4, the cyber crime wing of the Coimbatore police arrested Shankar over his alleged “defamatory statements” against senior and women police officers during an interview
The police said that Shankar was allegedly in possession of ganja when he was arrested from a hotel room in Theni on May 4. (Getty Images)
Chennai: The Theni district police on Friday conducted a search at the office and residence of whistleblower turned Youtuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar in connection with a ganja case filed against him last week, a police officer said.
The officer said: “His office in T Nagar and residence in Maduravoyal were searched today (Friday). The investigation is on from several angles.”
On May 4, the cyber crime wing of the Coimbatore police arrested Shankar over his alleged “defamatory statements” against senior and women police officers during an interview.
A former employee of the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC), he currently runs Savukku media in T Nagar comprising a web portal and a YouTube channel.
The police said that Shankar was allegedly in possession of ganja when he was arrested from a hotel room in Theni on May 4. Since then, as many as five cases have been filed against Shankar. His arrest came days after the staff of Savukku media were arrested on various charges.
On Friday, Shankar was also brought from Coimbatore prison to Chennai to be produced before a local court in Egmore in connection with two cases booked against him by the cyber crime wing of Greater Chennai City Police on May 7. The two additional cases were based on the complaints of the founder and leader of Tamilar Munnetra Padai, Veeralakshmi. Felix Gerald, who manages a YouTube channel Redpix, has been named as one of the accused. They have been booked under sections 294(b), 506 (i) of the IPC, police said.
The second case pertains to an old harassment complaint by a woman editor of a private media company, police said. “Investigation is going on in both the cases,” police said in a statement. Police did not identify the woman editor. But journalist Sandhya Ravishankar posted on X, “After 6 years, Chennai Police registered an FIR on the basis of my complaint against ‘Savukku’ Shankar.” The Chennai Cyber Crime have registered a case u sections 294(b), 354D, 506(i), 509 IPC and section 4 of TN Prevention of Harassment of Women Act on May 7. “Thanks to CoP, Chennai & team,” Ravishankar said.
The Madras high court on Wednesday directed the Coimbatore district legal services authority to submit a report on the health condition of whistleblower turned YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar by Thursday. He was sent to judicial custody till May 17, following his arrest allegedly for making defamatory remarks against women police officers.
A vacation bench of Justices AD Jagadish Chandira and R Kalamathi passed the order on a habeas corpus petition filed by Shankar’s mother A Kamala. She moved the HC alleging that he is facing custodial violence by prison authorities at the Coimbatore central prison. In her petition, she stated that Shankar’s lawyer has informed her that he was ‘brutally attacked’ by the jail wardens resulting in severe injuries. She sought directions for a judicial probe into the alleged custodial violence and for providing him proper treatment at a private hospital. The justices said that they will wait for the legal services authority’s report. On Thursday, the HC remarked that Youtube channels have become a menace in the society.
Shankar was earlier jailed in 2022 after the Madurai Bench of the HC, sentenced him to six months in jail in suo motu contempt proceedings for his statement that “the entire higher judiciary is riddled with corruption.”
