May 17 Movement co-ordinator Thirumurugan Gandhi has been remanded in four more criminal cases including two sedition cases booked against him in 2017.
It may be recalled that Mr. Gandhi was arrested on August 9 by the Airport Police at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, on his arrival from abroad to attend a workshop. He was handed over to the the Cyber Crime Cell of the Chennai city police, which had issued a look-out circular against him.
Producing him before a metropolitan magistrate Court in Saidapet the next day, police said he circulated a video of his speech delivered at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) highlighting alleged police atrocities in Thoothukudi including the firing on protesters that killed 13 people. The magistrate declined to remand him saying that one could not be arrested on the basis of a speech delivered at the UNHRC.
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The officers of the Cyber Cell, after a brief interrogation, set him free. But he was picked up again by the Royapettah police within a few minutes in connection with an old case. He was booked for taking out a procession to garland a Periyar statue on September 20, 2017.
The police then added two Sections, 124-A(Sedition) and 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), of the IPC, in the FIR.
He was initially lodged in Central Prison-II, Puzhal, and later shifted to the Central Prison, Vellore. Last week, Mr. Gandhi was taken to Kanniyakumari, Seerkazhi and Thoothukdui where he was produced in the respective magistrate courts and remanded to judicial custody in connection with cases booked for allegedly speaking against the Central and State governments and for allegedly creating enmity and hatred between different groups of people.
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On Monday, he was produced before the judicial magistrate, Tiruvottiyur, for remanding. The Puzhal Police alleged that on September 19, 2017, after coming out from the Central Prison, Mr. Gandhi and his supporters garlanded Periyar and Ambedkar statues, and at that time, he spoke in a manner that incited the public to commit an offence against the State or against public tranquillity.
In the afternoon, he was taken to a magistrate court in Saidapet and the police said he had been arrested on sedition charges booked by the Mambalam police and the MGR Nagar police. The two cases were booked for organising public meetings and speaking against governments last September. Mr. Gandhi was remanded to judicial custody until September 3 and was taken to the Central Prison, Vellore.