Thirumurugan Gandhi held in another case after court refuses to remand

The police had arrested him on Thursday at the Bengaluru airport when he returned after addressing the United Nations Human Right Council in Geneva, where he raised the police firing on anti-Sterlite protesters at Thoothukudi. The CCB placed him under arrest based on a complaint of one Haja Ammer Hussain Sahib, who complained against Gandhi for the speech, the video of which has been spreading viral on social media through the outfits official Facebook page “May 17 Movement.”

The speech was against the Police Department and Government of Tamil Nadu over the police action during the public protest seeking closure of Sterlite Copper’s smelter in Thoothukudi. Police claimed the speech in the video was wantonly provocative “to cause rioting and inducing to commit offence against public tranquillity, with intent to cause fear to the public.”

However, on Friday, when police brought Gandhi to Saidapet court complex and produced him before the XI Metropolitan Magistrate S Prakash seeking to send the activist in remand, the judge asked the City Police to justify the charges against Thirumurugan Gandhi. Also, the court asked whether the video was uploaded from the activist’s account. As the speech was delivered at a UN forum in which India is also a representative and because the videos were uploaded by the UNHRC, Gandhi cannot be held responsible, the court pointed out.

The court had given 24 hours for the City Police to conduct inquiry. But the police arrested him again in connection with a case registered in the Royapettah police station in 2017. Last year, when he was released from jail after his detention under the Goondas Act was squashed by the court, Gandhi along with his supporters had come to Royapettah in a convoy of vehicles to garland a statue of Periyar. Police maintained this was without permission, which caused trouble to motorists. He was now being arrested for that, police added.