Kamal C Chavara, a Malayalam writer, was detained by police for allegedly insulting the national anthem.
Highlights
- Writer detained by police in Kerala over Facebook post
- BJP youth wing had filed case against him for his book in Malayalam
- Earlier, 12 arrested for not standing for national anthem at film fest
A writer in Kerala was charged with sedition on Sunday over a Facebook post that was allegedly disrespectful to the national anthem.
Malayalam writer and theatre artist Kamal C Chavara was taken into custody by the police for questioning, a police official said.
"His views have been under the scanner in the past too. But for now he is being questioned for his controversial post on the national anthem on Facebook. He has been booked for sedition," the District Police Chief of Kollam Sateesh Bino told NDTV.
The writer was detained in Kozhikode by the police and taken to Kollam, where the police case was registered against him earlier.
Earlier, the youth wing of BJP 'Yuva Morcha' had filed a police complaint against the writer for allegedly insulting the national anthem in his book in Malayalam.
The incident comes after the arrest of 12 people earlier this month for not standing up when the national anthem was being played before the screening of a film at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Supreme Court ruled on November 30 that cinemas should play the national anthem before every screening, and that the audience should stand, drawing angry accusations of an assault on civil liberties.