Kamal C. Chavara. (Right) Cover of his novel 'Smasanangalude Nottupusthakam'.Kozhikode: A Malayalam writer and theater artist has been charged with sedition for allegedly insulting the national anthem.
Kamal C. Chavara aka Kamalsi Prana was taken into custody by Nadakavu police Sunday for allegedly insulting the national anthem in a Facebook post. Kamal was taken into custody from Kozhikode after a case was registered against him at the Karunagappalli police station in Kollam a few days ago. Reports said Kamal has been charged under Section 124 (A) of IPC (sedition). He will be handed over to Karunagapalli police, Manorama News reported.
The Facebook post in Malayalam, which provoked the complainants, was an excerpt from his novel “Smashanangalude Nottupustakam” which was published by a leading publishing house. Kamal posted the portion on Facebook apparently to mark his protest against the Supreme Court order which said the national anthem should be played in every cinema hall prior to each screening.
The complaint was lodged by Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of BJP. Yuvamorcha, in its complaint, said Kamal's Facebook post insulted the national anthem.
The arrest came at a time when Kamal was all set to approach the court seeking anticipatory bail in the case.
The arrest of Kamal has sparked wide-spread protests on social media with many terming it an infringement on the freedom of expression. Some even alleged that the state police has been playing to the tune of the RSS' ideology.
Earlier this month, six people were arrested for not standing up when the national anthem was played before the screening of a film at the recently concluded International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in Thiruvananthapuram.
