Fifty-seven people, including >folk-singer Kovan , were arrested in Chennai on Thursday for protesting against the arrest and attack of JNU Student Union president Kanhaiya Kumar.
The protestors demanded the release of Kanhaiya Kumar and removal of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) from all educational institutions. ABVP has been at the forefront of both the protests at JNU in Delhi and academic Rohith Vemula's suicide at the University of Hyderabad.
The protestors were part of cultural outfit Makkal Kalai Ilakiya Kazhagam, Revolutionary Students' Youth Front (RSYS) and five other student organisations. They were picked up by the police within 15 minutes of the protest. They were protesting in front of Shastri Bhavan, in Nungambakkam.
Kovan, who had already been >arrested and slapped with a sedition case earlier for singing a song that allegedly insulted Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, sang a song against the Central government.