Police arrests YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar for defamatory remarks against women officers

The Tamil Nadu police arrested popular Tamil YouTuber and political commentator ‘Savukku’ Shankar for allegedly making defamatory comments against women police personnel.

The Cyber Crime Wing of Coimbatore police arrested Shankar from Theni on May 4 and was brought to Coimbatore for further investigation. 

Meanwhile, the police vehicle bringing Savukku to Coimbatore met with a minor accident, The Hindu reported. Savukku and the police constables received minor injuries, the report added.

Shankar allegedly made derogatory comments during a recent online interview.

Shankar was booked under Sections 294(b) (obscene acts and songs), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of IPC r/w section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act and section 67 of Information Technology Act of 2000, Coimbatore city police said in a post on X (formally Twitter).

Who is Savukku

A staunch critic of the DMK government in the state, Shankar was earlier sentenced to six months by the Madras High Court for contempt.  

Shankar, a suspended employee of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), runs a web portal under the name Savukku and is a regular on Tamil YouTube channels. 

He was arrested in 2008 by the then DMK government for allegedly leaking a tape containing audio conversations of two top officials. After his release, Shankar became a whistleblower and exposed several scams.

The Madras High Court in March this year directed YouTube to deposit the revenue earned by Savukku Shankar earned through his videos accusing media company Lyca Productions of smuggling contraband substances. He was also restricted from making any more unverified allegations against Lyca and the HC said that YouTubers did not have a license to tarnish the reputation of others.