Kannada actor Chetan Kumar also known as Chetan Ahimsa was arrested by police on Tuesday by Bengaluru city police for his tweet on Hindutva which went viral because it hurt religious sentiments. His tweet, which says that “Hindutva is built on lies”, allegedly hurt the sentiments of Hindus. This was his second arrest in the last year over his Twitter posts.
He was taken into custody by the Sheshadripuram police in Bengaluru. The actor was produced at a district court and sent to jail for 14 days. Charges against him are of insulting a religion or religious beliefs and making statements that promote enmity between classes.
On Monday, Chetan tweeted that Hindutva was built on lies and could be defeated by truth.
“Hindutva is built on LIES. Savarkar claim: Indian ‘nation’ began when Rama defeated Ravana & returned to Ayodhya —> a lie.
1992: Babri Masjid is ‘birthplace of Rama’ —> a lie.
2023: Urigowda-Nanjegowda are ‘killers’ of Tipu—> a lie.
Hindutva can be defeated by TRUTH—> truth is EQUALITY,” Chetan said in his tweet.
Sources from police said that a person named Shivakumar had approached the police and filed a complaint stating that Chetan’s tweet hurt Hindu sentiments.
He has been in talks for his tweets which have always caught an eye. Chetan had also commented on the recent BJP narrative on Vokkaliga chieftains Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda. Last February, Chetan was arrested for his alleged comments against a Karnataka High Court judge hearing the hijab case. In October 2022, Chetan was booked for stating that ‘Bhoota Kola’, which was depicted in the film Kantara, was not part of a Hindu custom.
Chetan Kumar is an American Kannada-language film actor and a public intellectual. He is a socio-political activist based in India. Chetan made his on-screen debut in the 2007 cult classic film Aa Dinagalu which earned him the Udaya Film Awards for best debut actor male. His most recent success came in the 2013 hit Myna, for which his performance received strong critical acclaim.
