Tamil actor Kasthuri Shankar arrested in Hyderabad over derogatory remarks against Telugu community

Chennai, Nov 17 : A special team deployed by the Greater Chennai Police arrested Tamil actor Kasthuri Shankar from a flat under Narsingi police station limits in Hyderabad on Saturday night.

A special team from Egmore police of Chennai arrested the actor.

A senior officer from Cyberabad Police Commissionerate told IANS that a team from Egmore police station arrived in Hyderabad on November 16 and arrested Kasthuri from her flat in Narsingi.

The officer said that Kasthuri was booked under Sections 191 and 192 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita Act of 2023. The police team arrested the actor and will be taking her to Chennai on transit.

The actor was under investigation for controversial remarks made about the Telugu community during a gathering on November 3 in Chennai.

Accusations against Kasthuri include hate speech and targeting the Telugu community, which she refuted, claiming her statements were misinterpreted.

The anticipatory bail moved by Kasthuri was denied by the Madras High Court on November 14 in a case related to her alleged derogatory remarks about the Telugu community.

Justice Anand Venkatesh, who dismissed the actor's bail plea, observed that her comments were "unwarranted" and noted that her apology did not adequately address the controversial statements.

The case stems from remarks Kasthuri made on November 3 at a Brahmin gathering in Chennai.

She allegedly said that Telugu-speaking people in Tamil Nadu were descendants of courtesans, who came to serve the kings 300 years ago and were now claiming Tamil origins.

Kasthuri's comments drew widespread criticism, prompting a member of the Naidu Mahajana Sangam State executive committee to file an FIR against her.

In response to the backlash, Kasthuri issued an apology on social media platform X, claiming that "false news" was being spread by "Tamil Nadu's Goebbels and the anti-Hindu DMK network".

"She also expressed her love and loyalty for the Telugu community, stating, "People of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will never fall for their lies."

Justice Venkatesh while rejecting Kasthuri's bail plea, said that she "should have refrained from speaking against the women of the Telugu community".

The court criticised the actor's comments and found her apology insufficient, as it did not directly address the remarks about women.

Kasthuri argued in court that the FIR was "politically motivated," claiming the DMK government had an "intolerant and vindictive attitude" toward her.

She maintained that her remarks did not incite any unrest or provoke the Telugu community.

Police sources reported that Kasthuri's current whereabouts are unknown, but intelligence suggests she is hiding in Andhra Pradesh with her phone switched off. Her Chennai apartment has been found locked.

It is also alleged that a Tamil film producer helped the actor escape from Tamil Nadu, though the police have declined to reveal the producer's identity.

Kasthuri, who actively campaigned for the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has been distanced by the Tamil Nadu BJP, which condemned her statements.

She later issued a clarification, claiming her comments were misinterpreted.

According to Kasthuri, her remarks were meant to highlight the hypocrisy and double standards of the DMK and not to insult the Telugu community.

Kasthuri said that her remarks referred to a specific group of workers who accompanied Telugu rulers to Tamil Nadu centuries ago and later assumed Tamil identities.

She asserted that her statements were twisted to suggest a broader attack on the Telugu community, which she denied.

Kasthuri clarified that she referenced "staff of consorts," not "descendants of consorts," and cited late DMK leader M. Karunanidhi's acknowledgment that the group consisted of artisans and musicians.

She argued that her critics were mostly DMK cadres and that her comments targeted the party's ideological stance, which, in her view, unfairly portrays Brahmins as "foreign" to Tamil Nadu.

Kasthuri further accused the DMK of indulging in "Brahmin persecution, Sanatan opposition, and Hindu god humiliation," asserting that the party's stance was "anti-Hindu, anti-Brahmin, and anti-Sanatan".

She concluded by stating that her remarks were aimed at exposing the DMK's "outsider politics," which she claimed stigmatises Brahmins while ignoring the historical migrations of other groups into Tamil Nadu.