The Kattoor police in Coimbatore have registered a case against Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan , news app Dailyhunt and others in connection with the publication of a photo of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami with an accused involved in a fake currency case.
The case was registered under Sections 153 B (1)(b) and 505 (1) (e) of the IPC based on a complaint filed by S.J. Ashok Kumar, an AIADMK functionary.
The complainant alleged that the accused published the photo of Mr. Palaniswami with B. Ananth, an accused in the seizure of ₹1.18 crore in fake currencies in Coimbatore recently, with an intention to tarnish the reputation of the AIADMK government and create law and order issues and unrest among party workers. The complainant also wanted the police to take action against those circulating the photo on social media.
In the photo, Ananth is seen standing close to the Chief Minister. There are six others in the photo including Athma Sivakumar, co-ordinator of the VOC Makkal Iyakkam, under whom Ananth had worked.
Mr. Sivakumar, in an audio clipping shared to media persons, said that the photo was taken during one of the visits of the Chief Minister to Coimbatore.
“As a humble human being, he (Chief Minister) permitted us to take the photo with him. Several people had taken photos with him. It is difficult to ascertain whether someone has criminal antecedents while taking a photo on such occasions,” said Mr. Sivakumar, adding that he was not aware of Ananth’s wrongdoings when he worked under him and he did not have personal contact with him.
