Tirunelveli: The Tirunelveli police have arrested YouTuber M.Maridhas in connection with the First Information Report (FIR) registered against him in 2020 for a video post insinuating ‘Tablighi Jamaatâ in the spread of Coronavirus and stoking communal sentiments.
Maridhas was arrested for the third time in a span of one week. He was already arrested in two cases of which the Madras High Court has quashed the FIR in respect of one case.
Sources said Maridhas posted the video in his YouTube channel, titled âTerrorism + Corona = Indiaâs new problem Tablighi Jamaat’ on 2 April, 2020 in which he stated that the Tablighi Jamaat event at Nizamuddin in New Delhi during March, 2020 was responsible for great number of people being infected with the virus.
He said Covid is being deliberately spread by (Muslim) terrorists to murder innocents across the World. The supporters of this terrorism protect themselves with their Muslim identity and then allege discrimination in order to protect themselves, he alleged.
On a complaint from Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam functionary Mohamed Kadar Meeran on 4 April, 2020 the Melapalayam police in Tirunelveli registered a case against Maridhas under sections 292A (printing, etc., of grossly indecent or scurrilous matter or matter intended for black mail), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 505(2) (statements conducing to public mischief with intent to cause fear) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
Maridhas, who has been lodged in Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai, was brought to Tirunelveli amid tight security this afternoon and was produced before the Judicial Magistrate court, which remanded him to custody till 30 December. He was later lodged in Theni prison.
Earlier, Maridhas was arrested by the Madurai city police on 9 December for posting a controversial tweet that questioned whether Tamilnadu was turning into another Kashmir under the DMK rule, after the recent IAF chopper crash in which CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others died in Nilgiris district.
He said many DK and DMK supporters can be seen posting âemojisâ mocking the death of the army commander. They do this every time. It is an undeniable fact that the DMK has been the best choice for separatist forces.
He alleged that the State gives freedom to create a group that can do any level of treason against the country, there is a possibility for any kind of conspiracy to be hatched here.
But, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had on 14 December quashed the FIR on the grounds that none of the offences mentioned in the FIR are made out in this case.
In a second case, the Central Crime Branch of Chennai police recorded Maridhasâs arrest on 11 December in connection with a case registered against him last year pertaining to a complaint filed by News 18 Tamil
Channel for forging an e-mail purported to be that of an associate executive editor of the News 18 media group.