Now Reading: Kerala right-wing commentator arrested over NEET protest remarks
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Kerala right-wing commentator arrested over NEET protest remarks
Kerala right-wing political commentator T G Mohandas was arrested from his home in Kochi on Sunday over remarks he made in a YouTube video about a student protest in Delhi against the…
The Story in Brief
Kerala right-wing political commentator T G Mohandas was arrested from his home in Kochi on Sunday over remarks he made in a YouTube video about a student protest in Delhi against the NEET paper leak. The Thiruvananthapuram Cyber Police registered a case after a complaint that the video disturbed public peace and created fear. In the video, rediff.com reports, Mohandas said female protesters 'like rape' and suggested that if he were in charge he would impose a curfew and 'open fire' on them. Police have seized his digital equipment and will question him further.
The Indian Opinion
Free speech is not a licence to threaten violence or degrade protesters. T G Mohandas's alleged remarks, that female protesters 'like rape' and that he would 'open fire' on them, cross every line a democracy can tolerate. Some will call this a crackdown on dissent. But dissent is not the same as incitement. The real test will be the court's decision on bail: if it is granted swiftly, it will show that India's laws still leave room for odious speech as long as it stops short of actionable harm. If it is not, the question is whether the arrest was about the words or the man.
Source: rediff.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
