Chennai: In a shocking incident, the Tamil Nadu police, which is run by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government, arrested a man named M. Sakthivel for urging people to exclusively buy from Hindu stores in preparation for the forthcoming Hindu festival of Diwali.

He was charged for violating Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 505 and 153A, which prohibit inciting animosity between groups based on religion (public mischief). Four of the man's accomplices have also been identified in the case along with the man. He is now in the custody of the court.

It should be mentioned that Sakthivel is the "Hindu Munnani" district coordinator for Karur. and he had handed out flyers urging everyone to buy goods from stores run by Hindus.

He was a resident of Vengamedu Jyothidar Street and had urged his fellow believers to check for images of Hindu deities inside stores before making any purchases from them. Soft copies of the pamphlets also started doing the rounds of the internet.

The Vengamedu police detained Sakthivel after taking notice of the situation. The Hindu holiday of Diwali commemorates Shri Ram, Sita, and Lakshman's return to Ayodhya after killing Ravan the demon king in Lanka.

When Hindu Munnani members protested Shakthivel's arrest, the police detained another 27 members of the Hindu rights group.

AIMIM (Inquilab) leader MA Qavi Abbasi also urged members of his community to exclusively purchase items from Muslim-owned businesses during the month of Ramadan in April of this year. He wasn't actually taken into custody in connection with the case; instead, he was just booked by the Hyderabad police.

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