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A 26-year-old resident of Chennai, Kanaganathan was arrested by the Virugambakkam police on Sunday, 9 February for allegedly shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a BJP meeting in his area.
This after cadre of the party surrounded his house and demanded that he be booked for raising the slogans.
"There was a BJP gathering there and his slogans created tension," Inspector of the Virugambakkam station told The News Minute.
While he revealed that he was booked for disrupting public harmony, he refused to divulge the other section.
He further asked the reporter to meet the accused in jail for further details.
Speaking to TNM, human rights lawyer Sudha Ramalingam confirms that the arrest itself is unlawful. "Irrespective of whether he screamed it from his house or the road, you can't arrest someone for raising a slogan. That is not how the law or democracy works," she says,
"The Supreme Court itself has said that people should not be remanded unless there is a threat of them evading arrest or influencing witnesses."
“This will serve as a warning to others who want to voice their opinion. The process itself is their punishment.”
(This article has been published in arrangement with The News Minute)
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