Chennai police are facing a complaint from economist and Madras Institute of Development Studies associate professor A Kalaiyarasan, who alleged that plainclothes personnel took him from his Adyar residence early Wednesday over an abusive Instagram post he said he had not published.
According to Kalaiyarasan’s account, three policemen arrived at his home around 5am and asked him to accompany them to Sankar Nagar police station in Pammal. He said he was taken away in his nightclothes and that the personnel accused him of posting an abusive comment targeting Pallavaram Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam MLA J Kamatchi.
Kalaiyarasan said he told the policemen that he did not have the social media account linked to the post. He also said the personnel did not show him a complaint, first information report or any document authorising the inquiry. During the journey in a rented car, he repeatedly asked for his phone so he could contact his family, but was allowed to inform friends only later.
The vehicle stopped near Pallavaram for about 45 minutes before the police received instructions to take him back home, he said. During the return journey, personnel showed him an Instagram account with the username @youvijayamani, which carried his name and photograph. Kalaiyarasan suspected that the photograph had been taken from the Harvard University website, where he had previously served as a research affiliate.
Police later asked him to submit a written statement denying ownership of the account before returning his phone, according to his complaint. He reached home at around 7.45am, nearly three hours after he had been taken from his residence.
Kalaiyarasan subsequently wrote to Director General of Police Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, seeking action against the personnel involved. He described the episode as humiliating and alleged that he had been unlawfully detained and subjected to identity misuse. “I felt harassed and humiliated,” he said, questioning how police could take someone away in the early hours without first giving him an opportunity to explain.
The incident also highlights the operational difficulty of responding to social-media complaints when accounts use another person’s name or photograph. In this case, police initially questioned Kalaiyarasan because the account associated with the abusive post bore his name and image, according to Sankar Nagar inspector Rajasekar.
Rajasekar denied the allegations of harassment. He said Kalaiyarasan was taken for questioning because the social-media account carried his name and photograph, and that he was released after police established that he had no connection with the account.
The complaint submitted to the DGP seeks action against the personnel involved. The supplied report does not state whether any case has been registered in response to Kalaiyarasan’s complaint or whether the police department has ordered a separate inquiry.
