Stunt choreographer Kanal Kannan arrested, remanded to judicial custody

Chennai: Kanal Kannan, a noted stunt master in the Tamil film industry, who was arrested for offending religious sentiments has been remanded to judicial custody, police said on Tuesday.

Kannan, also an actor and chief of the art and culture wing of Hindu Munnani, an RSS affiliate, was arrested by Kanyakumari district police on July 10 and remanded to judicial custody.

He was arrested for posting a video clip in a social media platform that showed a man — foreigner — dressed like a pastor dancing with a woman.

Kannan had remarked that ”this is foreign religious culture”. He was summoned by Kanyakumari police and he was arrested following questioning. An FIR, for offending religious sentiments, was registered under different Indian Penal Code sections.

On the allegation of Hindu activists that Kannan was troubled as he was detained for hours together by police in the guise of questioning — based on a complaint from a DMK office-bearer — a senior Kanyakumari district police official said the accusation was false.

”We have video footages. He was treated courteously and we acted as per law,” he told PTI. The activists staged a brief protest on Monday against police.