Chennai: On a day of high political drama, Tamil Nadu’s Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin was released in the evening on station bail after around an hour of questioning at Sengipatti Police Station near Thanjavur, reported India Today.
Udhayanidhi, son of former chief minister M K Stalin, was arrested from his residence on Tuesday morning over his alleged objectionable remarks involving actor Trisha Krishnan.
He walked free nine hours later, greeted by hundreds of DMK workers who were waiting outside the police station for hours.
#WATCH | A large crowd of DMK cadres welcome Tamil Nadu LoP and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin as he leaves from Sengipatti Police Station in Thanjavur. He was detained by the Police earlier today, in connection with a case registered over his alleged remarks during a public… pic.twitter.com/QzHjzlQQWu
— ANI (@ANI) August 4, 2026
It all started on Monday after leaders of the ruling TVK party filed a complaint alleging Udhayanidhi made an objectionable remark when sections of the crowd chanted Trisha’s name during his speech at a DMK protest on the Cauvery issue in Thanjavur.
An FIR was lodged, and Udhayanidhi was arrested on Tuesday morning on charges of use of obscene words, insulting modesty of a woman, promoting enmity, provoking riots and criminal intimidation under BNS. Provisions of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act have also been invoked.
After his arrest, DMK moved the Madras High Court which directed that Udhayanidhi be released on station bail – which refers to bail granted directly at the police station by the Station House Officer — today itself.
Advocate General Vijay Narayan assured the high court that Udhayanidhi would only be questioned and released on station bail.
As Udhayanidhi’s police convoy headed for Thanjavur South police station, the plan had to be changed midway, according to India Today.
With hundreds of DMK workers waving party flags and shouting slogans against the TVK government, security personnel struggled to manage the swelling crowd,
The convoy made an abrupt U-turn and headed to Sengipatti police station, around 21 km away.
The sudden change led to confusion among party workers, many of whom then rushed towards Sengipatti.
Once they reached Sengipatti PS, Udhayanidhi initially refused to step out of the police vehicle, arguing that this was not what was mentioned before the High Court during the hearing on his arrest.
However, the DMK leader eventually stepped out of the police van, waved to cheering party workers.
The crowd kept growing, and the slogan shouting grew louder too.
They were starting to get impatient when Udhayanidhi stepped out of the police station.
