Actor Kasthuri was arrested in Hyderabad by the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) on Saturday, November 16, over her derogatory remarks against Telugu people living in Tamil Nadu. A First Information Report (FIR) was previously filed against Kasthuri on November 5, at the Egmore F2 police station in Chennai.
At a rally against ‘Brahmin persecution,’ held in Chennai on November 3, Kasthuri, who identifies as a Hindu right-wing activist, had claimed that the Brahmin community was facing threats due to the Dravidian ideology. Without mentioning the names of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders, she claimed that Telugu-speaking women who came to Tamil Nadu as ‘concubines’ to kings, are claiming to be Tamils and attacking Brahmins as ‘invaders.’ She also claimed that the Tamil cinema industry had not given her opportunities because she’s Brahmin. She went on to deny historic caste oppression and also made claims of attempts at a “Brahmin genocide”.
She was booked under Sections 192 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 196(1)(a) (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, or community), 353(1)(b) (criminal intimidation) and 353(2) (criminal intimidation) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) by the Egmore F2 police in Chennai.
After widespread backlash, Kasthuri retracted her statement and said that she had only referred to a section of people from the DMK while speaking at the rally in Chennai.
The actor then moved to court seeking an anticipatory bail. However, the Madurai branch of the Madras High Court (HC) dismissed the bail plea on November 14. Justice Anand Venkatesh, presiding over the single-judge bench, noted that Kasthuri’s apology only seemed to justify, rather than regret, her statements.
“The petitioner’s comments were unnecessary. How can someone who claims to be educated and socially responsible say such things? Will it not create unnecessary problems among those who watch videos of the speech? Her apology statement does not show that she has realised this. She only seems to be justifying what she said,” Justice Anand Venkatesh had remarked.