Chennai, Dec 17 (IANS): Tamil Nadu Police have arrested YouTuber and whistleblower ‘Savukku’ Shankar in a case related to the possession of ganja.

Shankar was arrested in Chennai on Tuesday after the Special Court for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) cases in Madurai issued a non-bailable warrant earlier in the day for his failure to appear for proceedings in the case.

Sources said that the Theni district police seized 2.5 kilograms of ganja from Shankar in May this year during a search operation.

The Palanichettipatti police in Theni district subsequently filed a case against him.

A special team of Chennai police apprehended Shankar at his office in T. Nagar and held him at the Teynampet police station before handing him over to the Theni district police.

Along with Shankar, three of his associates accused of supplying ganja were also arrested.

On May 4, the Coimbatore police arrested him from Theni for allegedly making derogatory remarks about women police personnel and certain Madras High Court judges.

These comments were reportedly made during an interview with the YouTube channel RedPix 24x7 on April 30. Multiple FIRs were filed against him across Tamil Nadu in connection with the statements.

However, on August 9, the Madras High Court set aside the Chennai City Police Commissioner’s order to detain Shankar under the Goondas Act and directed his immediate release unless he was required in other cases.

During hearings related to Shankar’s legal troubles, Supreme Court Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra questioned the Tamil Nadu government’s persistence in pursuing him.

“Why are you doing all this? This is the same matter where you are after this man. He comes out, and you immediately put him behind bars,” the bench observed.

Shankar’s counsel argued that the journalist was “exercising his right to free speech” and that the state was “not prosecuting, but persecuting him.”

The Supreme Court had earlier directed the Tamil Nadu police not to take any coercive action against Shankar based on the FIRs, leading to his release in September 2024.