The Cyber Cell of the Tamil Nadu police have booked actor-model Meera Mithun for her casteist remarks against members of Scheduled Caste (SC) in a recent video that went viral on social media. The case was registered based on a complaint by the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader and former MP Vanni Arasu. The Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front has also filed a complaint against Meera. Additionally, Dravidar Liberation Organisation Madurai District Secretary MP Mani Amuthan filed a complaint with the Madurai police commissioner.
Meera Mithun has been booked under seven provisions of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act. The actor is said to have made such a remark while participating in a talk show, during which she said, “I normally would not talk about Scheduled Caste people.” Further in the video, the actor is seen asking for all the members of the Scheduled Caste community to be thrown out of Tamil film industry. “I am not speaking ill about members of the SC community. But the members of the community face problems mostly because they are involved in illegal activities and crimes. No one will unnecessarily speak ill of someone without any reason,” she alleged.
She then went on to make discriminatory remarks while asking for the community members to be ‘chucked out’. “In the film industry, SC directors and other people of the community do ‘cheap things’. It is time to chuck out all the SC directors and other people from the film industry,” she alleged. The video was retweeted by several Twitter users criticizing the remarks made by the actor.
On August 7, VCK president and MP Thol Thirumavalavan urged the police to book the actor under SC/ST prevention Act for her vulgar remarks about oppressed castes.