Adding to the slew of arrests over rumour-mongering on Jayalalithaa’s health, a priest from Manapadu near Thoothukudi was arrested on Saturday.
According to The New Indian Express, the cyber cell police arrested Antony Jesuraj, a trainee priest at St Jacob’s Church, on Friday.
It is reported that he shared comments about the CM on his Facebook page, and has been brought to Chennai for an enquiry.
This follows Friday’s four arrests: Two arrests were made by the Coimbatore police based on a complaint from an AIADMK functionary that a bank clerk and a certified jewellery appraiser had mocked Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s health condition.
They were subsequently remanded in judicial custody.
Thirumani Selvam, a bank official from Thoothukudi, was arrested by the Crime Branch police for spreading false rumours about Jayalalithaa’s health on Facebook.
Another man, Balasundaram from Pammal, was arrested by the police for a similar crime.
In Coimbatore, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and All India Lawyers Union petitioned Superintendent of Police Ramya Bharathion Saturday demanding an inquiry into Friday’s arrest of two bank employees.
“The police have registered a case alleging that the two were spreading rumours about the CM’s health. They had actually spoken about the Chief Minister hoping for her recovery and only with the curiosity to know what happened to her,” said S Balamurugan, PUCL national executive committee member said to Express.
“Just speaking about the Chief Minister cannot be considered an offence. Everyone in the State hopes that the Chief Minister would recover soon,” Balamurugan added.