Bengaluru Police arrested controversial Kannada actor Huccha Venkat on Thursday in Bangalore for making allegedly derogatory comments against Dr B R Ambedkar.
Venkat, who was part of the recent Big Boss Kannada (BBK), was in his house in Ulsoor area of Bangalore at the time of his arrest.
Jnanabharathi police made the arrest following a complaint that Venkat had used the Kannada phrase, "nan yekkada" for describing Ambedkar. The term means that something is ‘equal to my chappal (footwear)’.
The complainant said that Venkat had made the comment on November 16 during a live interview with Kannada news channel BTV. The channel had invited him to discuss his alleged assault on a fellow contestant on Bigg Boss.
On Wednesday night, Karnataka Dalit Sangha activists had smeared ink on Venkat’s face for his comments on Ambedkar.
Venkat is currently in the news over his alleged assault on a Bigg Boss Kannada contestant. However, he first caught the attention of the public in February 2014, after he placed ads in leading newspapers declaring his wish to marry popular Kannada actor Ramya by force, which led to his arrest.
Later in the year, he became a subject of many spoofs after he publicly vented his frustration over failing to receive appreciation for his film titled 'Huccha Venkat'.