Coimbatore Collector K Rajamani on Thursday invoked the Goondas Act against Former National Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Mazdoor Mahasangh (BJMM) and BJP State working committee member Kalyanaraman. The Collector deemed that the BJP leader’s activities were prejudicial to the maintenance of public order and public peace. Kalyanaraman is presently being held at Gobichettipalayam sub-jail in Erode district.
The Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-offenders, Forest-offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders, Slum-grabbers and Video Pirates Act defines a 'goonda' as a person who either by himself or as a member of or leader of a gang habitually commits, or attempts to commit or abets the commission of offence.
According to reports, his bail was rejected by the local court and the police then produced several past FIRs against Kalyanaraman to prove that he is a habitual offender.
Kalyanaraman was arrested for his comments against the Islamic community and Prophet Mohammed during a BJP rally on January 30. Two other BJP members were also arrested along with him - Jegannathan, who is the BJP’s Coimbatore north district president of BJP, and Satheesh Kumar, the party’s divisional secretary.
A video from the rally showed Kalyanaraman making claims that Hindus in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad had bunkers to hide in because they were afraid of Muslims attacking them. He went on to insinuate that this fear was quelled in 2002 after the Gujarat riots. He also questioned the manhood of Prophet Mohammad. A similar statement made by him led to his arrest in 2016. In the video he detailed how the Madras High Court had granted him bail, with the judge stating that expressing opinions on religious aspects based on an individual’s knowledge of the subject does not amount to blasphemy.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh, however, took exception to the BJP leader’s comments on the judiciary. He criticised Kalyanaraman for making it seem like the court endorsed his views.
The accused were originally booked under sections 147 (rioting),148 (Rioting, armed with deadly weapon),149 (unlawful assembly), 504 (Whoever intentionally insults, and thereby gives provocation to any person, intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause him to break the public peace, or to commit any other offence) ,506(2) (criminal intimidation), 153(a) (wanton vilification or attacks upon the religion),153(b) (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) and 269(negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Indian Penal code.