Kannada actor Chetan Kumar was arrested by the Seshadripuram police in Bengaluru on Tuesday after his tweet, stating that Hindutva is “built on lies” went viral. The actor had tweeted yesterday that Hindutva is built on the basis of lies and that it can be defeated only by the truth.
“Hindutva is built on LIES. Savarkar claim: Indian ‘nation’ began when Rama defeated Ravana & returned to Ayodhya —> a lie. 1992: Babri Masjid is ‘birthplace of Rama’ —> a lie. 2023: Urigowda-Nanjegowda are ‘killers’ of Tipu—> a lie. Hindutva can be defeated by TRUTH—> truth is EQUALITY,” he wrote on social media.
Based on this, a member of right-wing outfit Bajrang Dal, identified as Shivakumar, filed a complaint at the Seshadripuram police station, alleging that this hurt his sentiments, after which, the actor was arrested.

This is not the first time that the actor has been arrested. Chetan Kumar, also known as Chetan Kumar Ahimsa, is an activist who is known for posting his opinions on social media regarding several current issues. He was arrested amid the hijab row in Karnataka last February for his allegedly objectionable tweet against a high court judge who was then hearing the hijab case.

Chetan Kumar was also caught up in a controversy in October after his remarks about the tradition of ‘Bhoota Kola’. He spoke in favour of creative liberties when fellow actor Dhananjaya had landed in a row over his film ‘Headbush’, which allegedly hurt sentiments with its depiction of folk art form Veeraghase and the Karaga utsava that happens in Bengaluru every year.