YouTuber Maridhas arrested for posting 'critical' videos against TVK govt

Well-known YouTuber Maridhas or Maridhas Malaichamy, known by his YouTube channel Maridhas Answers, was arrested on Monday (June 8) morning by a special team of the Chennai City Police for allegedly posting a series of critical videos targeting the TVK government, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and several state ministers, officials said.

According to police sources, following continuous allegations and critical commentary online against the functioning of the state government, the Cyber Crime department of Chennai Police registered a case on its own against the YouTuber.

Maridhas is known as a "right-wing" YouTuber and social media influencer from Madurai.

Cyber Crime wing registers case

A special team of Cyber Crime wing from Chennai arrived in Madurai on Monday. Maridhas was taken into their custody from his residence in Surya Nagar with assistance from the Madurai City Police. He is currently being brought to Chennai for further interrogation.

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"The YouTuber has been detained for questioning regarding a case registered by the Cyber Crime wing. Complete details regarding the specific sections under which he has been booked will be made available following further investigation," a senior police official said.

Maridhas, who commands a significant social media following, has frequently courted controversy in the past for his political commentary and has faced multiple police cases.

BJP says TVK is worse than DMK

Reacting to the arrest, Nainar Nagenthran, the Tamil Nadu BJP president, has claimed that TVK is worse than DMK with respect to curtailing the freedom of expression. In a strongly-worded statement, Nainar said, "Vijay Government's (TVK) crackdown on social media journalist Mr. Maridhas — solely for exposing the ruling party's 'Reels Model' governance to the public — is deeply condemnable. Is this the alternative politics that TVK promised? Being unable to tolerate even ordinary criticism of their administration and unleashing repression in this manner is a disgrace."

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He added, "Just as the adage goes — governments change but the misery remains — TVK came to power by winning over public sentiment as an alternative to the DMK, only to strangle the democratic voice of the people at an even more alarming pace than the DMK itself. The government must immediately release the arrested Mr. Maridhas!"

He then said that BJP Tamil Nadu will never allow the TVK government to use the police as its henchmen like the DMK.