Chennai, November 17 (IANS). The Madras High Court on Sunday sent Tamil actress Kasthuri Shankar to judicial custody till November 29.
The actress was arrested after her anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court in a case related to derogatory remarks allegedly targeting the Telugu community.
Kasturi was detained by a special police team from Egmore on Saturday night and taken by road from Hyderabad to Chennai. The actress was produced before the Fifth Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Egmore on Sunday, where Magistrate Raghupathi Raja issued the remand order. Later he was sent to Puzhal jail.
Let us tell you that a special team deployed by Greater Chennai Police had arrested Tamil actress Kasturi Shankar from a flat in Narsingi, Hyderabad on Saturday night. A senior official of the Cyberabad Police Commissionerate told IANS that a team from the Egmore police station reached Hyderabad on November 16 and arrested him from his flat in Narsingi.
The official said Kasturi has been booked under sections 191 and 192 of the Indian Justice Code Act 2023. The police team arrested the actress and will take her to Chennai on transit.
The Tamil star was under investigation for controversial remarks he made about the Telugu community during a meeting in Chennai on November 3. There are allegations against Kasthuri of hate speech and targeting the Telugu community living in Tamil Nadu. However, the actress denied this and claimed that her statements have been misrepresented.
The anticipatory bail filed by Kasturi was rejected by the Madras High Court on 14 November. Justice Anand Venkatesh, who rejected the actress’s bail plea, had said her comments were “inappropriate”.
The case is a result of comments made by Kasturi at a Brahmin gathering in Chennai on November 3. He reportedly described Telugu-speaking people living in Tamil Nadu as “descendants of prostitutes”. According to Kasthuri, they came to serve the kings 300 years ago and now claim to be of Tamil origin.
Kasturi’s comments were widely criticized, leading to an FIR filed against him by a member of the Naidu Mahajana Sangam State Executive Committee.
In response, Kasturi apologized in a statement on social media platform
He also expressed his love and loyalty towards the Telugu community and said “the people of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will never fall prey to their lies.”
Justice Venkatesh, while rejecting Kasturi’s bail plea, had said that she “should have refrained from speaking against women of the Telugu community”. The court criticized the actress’ comments, calling her apology inadequate.
At the same time, Kasturi argued in the court that the FIR was “politically motivated”. He claimed that the DMK government had an “intolerant and vindictive attitude” towards him. He said that his comments did not serve to instigate the Telugu community.
Kasturi had campaigned for BJP in the Lok Sabha elections this year. But the Tamil Nadu unit of the party has distanced itself from his statement. However, he issued a clarification, claiming that his comments were misinterpreted.
According to Kasturi, “His remarks were intended to expose the hypocrisy and double standards of the DMK and not to insult the Telugu community.”
–IANS
MT/AKJ
