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Karthik Kumar, the man who was assaulted by Tamil Nadu Deputy Speaker and TVK MLA Ravi Shankar, has released a fresh video alleging that he was threatened into recording an earlier video absolving the legislator of wrongdoing. He claimed that Ravi Shankar threatened to kill his entire family if he did not record the statement.
“I did not make the statement wholeheartedly. I made the video to save my life and my family,” Karthik Kumar said.
In an earlier video that surfaced after the incident, Karthik Kumar was seen sitting beside Ravi Shankar and saying that nothing had happened and that the incident had been misrepresented on social media. He claimed that the crowd had jostled him. Though there was no visible crowd during the incident, Karthik had said that “there was some pushing and shoving” leading to the assault.
In his fresh statement, Karthik Kumar said he was a social worker and had approached the MLA to raise concerns about the lack of basic amenities in his ward. He said that repeated complaints to the authorities had yielded no results.
According to him, he saw Ravi Shankar’s vehicle outside his residence while returning from a temple at around 6.30 pm. “I thought I could interact with him and share my plea. But without asking for any details, he started assaulting me,” he said.
Karthik Kumar alleged that the MLA and his aides took away his spectacles, gold chain and motorcycle keys before chasing him away.
He also alleged that the police colluded with the MLA to intimidate him and prevent him from speaking about the assault. Karthik Kumar named Manachanallur police Inspector Kirubanidhi, accusing him of detaining him on false charges and threatening him to make the statement in support of Ravi Shankar.
The Inspector allegedly took him to the Deputy Speaker’s residence, where he was forced to record the video.
“They took me forcefully to the Deputy Speaker’s residence and tutored me to say those lines,” he said.
He was later admitted to the Manachanallur Government Hospital. Karthik Kumar also alleged that the doctors refused to name the legislator in the outpatient report as the person who assaulted him, recording the perpetrators instead as “unknown persons”.
