'Derogatory' remarks about Lord Muruga: Video channel anchor surrenders before TN police

Puducherry/Chennai July 16

An anchor of a video channel on social media, which allegedly denigrated Tamil hymn “Kanda Sashti Kavacham,” sung in praise of Lord Muruga, surrendered before the Tamil Nadu police in Puducherry on Thursday, police sources said.

A top official in Chennai Police also confirmed the development, and responded in the affirmative when asked if Surendran Natarajan of “Karuppar Koottam”, the YouTube channel, has been “arrested.”

The official did not divulge further details.

Police sources in Puducherry said the man surrendered before Tamil Nadu police at Kottamedu junction in Ariyankuppam block on the outskirts of the union territory.

He is the second person to come under the Chennai police net, after the arrest of a 49-year-old man connected to the channel in the city on Wednesday.

The BJP and many Hindu outfits in Tamil Nadu are up in arms demanding stringent action against those involved in the matter.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, members of the Tamil Nadu BJP, led by the state unit President L Murugan, staged protest outside their residences carrying portraits of Lord Muruga, seeking strong action against those involved.

In Coimbatore, over 300 vendors and traders at the foothills of the famous hill shrine Maruthamalai, dedicated to Lord Muruga, staged a demonstration today seeking immediate arrest of the person behind the alleged derogatory remarks against Kanda Sashti Kavacham.

Closing their shops in protest, the vendors said the remarks hurt the sentiments of Hindus. They wanted the government to arrest and detain another person allegedly connected to “Karuppar Koottam.”

Earlier, a major row had erupted after the channel made ‘denigrating’ remarks about “Kandha Sashti Kavacham”, a Tamil hymn sung in praise of Lord Muruga, son of Lord Shiva, with some of the videos going viral.

The BJP had  filed a police complaint against the YouTube channel “Karuppar Koottam”, seeking action against it for allegedly posting derogatory remarks about the Hindu deity.

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Chennai Police, which has registered a case, had arrested M Senthilvasan from Velachery in the city on Wednesday.

Earlier, the BJP and various Hindu organisations had filed a complaint against the channel with the Coimbatore Collector also, saying it had made ‘denigrating’ remarks about the Tamil hymn composed by Devaraya Swamigal and sought action. PTI