Chennai: Standoff as police try to arrest YouTuber 'Savukku' Shankar

CHENNAI: The police have landed outside the doors of popular YouTuber 'Savukku' Shankar on Saturday in connection with a complaint lodged by a film producer. Action has also been initiated against five others of the political commentator’s team.

When the police officials reached his residence in the morning, Shankar allegedly declined to open the door, insisting that the police first speak to his advocates before stepping in.

In a video from the spot, two police officers could be heard stating that they were willing to provide the details for the arrest and show the warrant if the particulars were sought in a proper manner by the advocates. Police should not be prevented from discharging their duties, they said in the video.

After he refused to open the doors, Fire and Rescue Services personnel were called in to break open the door if necessary.

Earlier, Shankar released a video on his social media handle claiming that the police were trying to arrest him in a "false" case filed by a film producer.

"The police issued summons in October end, and I replied stating that the said film producer had never visited my office or that I had sought money to remove a video that allegedly defamed him," Shankar said in the video.

He further said that the police claimed that he and his team beat up the producer and "snatched" Rs 2 lakh from him and demanded a hefty sum to delete the video. "This is all fabricated and such incidents never happened," he said.

Shankar alleged that the police were after him at the instigation of a senior official.

(With inputs from PTI)