Kochi: Right-wing political commentator and ideologue T G Mohandas was on Sunday taken into police custody from his residence in Mattancherry, Kochi, over his alleged remarks targeting students who took part in the NEET paper leak protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar last month.
A Thiruvananthapuram City Cyber Crime Police team arrived at his home, collected digital device details and took him to Thiruvananthapuram for detailed questioning and legal procedures.
Police had booked him on July 29 for controversial comments on his YouTube channel.
In a video uploaded on July 26, Mohandas said he would have shot at the Janar Mantar protesters had he been in charge of the situation.
He said he would have imposed a curfew in a 4 square kilometre area around Jantar Mantar, and ask the protesters three times to disperse. “Then I would shoot. People would scatter and run. Some may die. Some may not. Some will suffer grave injuries,” he said, adding that the situation would be brought under control within four hours and the bodies would be taken to hospital.
In another video, the former ‘convenor’ of BJP’s intellectual cell in Kerala said Leftist and secular women like being gangraped.
“Gangrapes will happen. In this case, there won’t be any complaints as these are people who like being raped. Some women like being raped, especially leftists, secular, democratic and proletarians. Now if someone dies during this, they will turn the person into a martyr,” he said.
His comments sparked widespread criticism from various quarters. The All India Students’ Federation (AISF) filed a complaint seeking action against Mohandas, alleging that his remarks promoted violence against protesters.
Mohandas had defended his comments, saying they were hypothetical and satirical. He even tried to argue that the context of his Malayalam remarks was lost in translation.
He was known to have links with the RSS, which distanced itself from Mohandas’ remarks, saying they represented his personal views and that he does not hold an official position in the organisation.