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The Greater Chennai Police (GCP) on Saturday, December 13, arrested YouTuber Savukku Shankar. The arrest followed his alleged failure to comply with police summons issued in connection with a case registered at the Adambakkam police station.
According to the police, Shankar was summoned for questioning in a case in which he and others have been accused of assault, criminal intimidation and extortion. As he failed to appear despite being served summons, a warrant was issued last month, following which a police team was sent to take him into custody.
The case pertains to allegations that film producer Purushothaman was assaulted and threatened when he approached Shankar and his team earlier this year, and that Rs 2 lakh was extorted from him. The producer also alleged that Shankar’s team demanded additional money in exchange for deleting online content posted against him.
Officers from the Meenambakkam and Madipakkam police stations reached Shankar’s residence on the Pallavaram–Thoraipakkam Radial Road on Saturday morning to execute the warrant.
According to reports, Shankar locked himself inside the apartment and refused to open the door, stating that he would do so only after his advocates arrived. The stand-off continued for several hours, after which the police sought assistance from the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services to gain entry.
Before his arrest, Shankar released a video on social media claiming that he had already sent a written reply to the summons on November 1, denying the allegations against him. He also said that the complaint filed by Purushothaman was based on false information and claimed that the complainant had never visited his office.
In another video recorded from inside the apartment shortly before his arrest, Shankar alleged that the police action was linked to an online transaction of Rs 94,000 received by one of his employees the previous night. He said his team was trying to ascertain the source of the transfer.
Shankar was taken into custody at around 2.15 pm, and a search was conducted at his premises. He was subsequently taken to the Madipakkam police station for inquiry and later produced for a medical examination at the Government General Hospital. He was then produced before the IX Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Saidapet.
The court remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days, until December 26.
A case has been registered against Shankar under Sections 308(5) (extortion), 296(b) (obscene act), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Further investigation is under way.