Actor and Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) functionary Ranjana Nachiyar was arrested by the Mangadu police on Saturday, November 4, for slapping and abusing school and college going students who were foot boarding on a government bus in Kundrathur, Kancheepuram. The BJP functionary verbally abused the bus conductor as well and has been booked for not allowing government officials from performing their duties, slapping and abusing students.

Ranjana, who played supporting roles in Irumbu Thirai, Natpe Thunai and Annathey among other films, stopped the government bus on Friday, November 3. Videos of the bus, with youngsters and students footboarding dangerously in large numbers and the politician asking them to deboard forcefully have surfaced on social media platforms. What started as Ranjana trying to ask accountability from the bus driver, soon descended into her pulling our students from the bus. When some students refused to deboard, the actor forcefully pulled them out and slapped them. Ranjana also verbally abused the conductor of the bus.

According to media reports, a complaint followed by a First Information Report (FIR) was filed at the Mangadu police station. Ranjana has been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 353 (assault to deter public servant from discharging duties) and 75j (punishment for cruelty to child). When the police attempted to arrest Ranjana from her house on Saturday, she alleged that male police officers banged on her window while she was changing inside. A video of the actor demanding an arrest warrant is also being shared widely. 

A police officer, however, clarified that there is no arrest warrant issued to this effect and that only an FIR was filed against the actor. According to the police, they waited outside Ranjana’s door for more than half an hour before she answered the door. After a long argument, the actor was arrested and taken to the Mangadu police station.