Bharathi Kannan, administrator of the Bharatiya Janata Party Tiruppur South District Youth Wing’s social media division, was reportedly arrested by the Tamil Nadu police in Tiruppur without following due legal procedure. His brother, Lingeshwaran Maruthi, who was with him at the time of the arrest, was assaulted, had his shirt torn, and was subjected to physical intimidation during the police action.
பா.ஜ.க இளைஞரணி சமூக ஊடகப் பிரிவு மாநில குழு உறுப்பினர் திரு.பாரதி கண்ணன் அவர்களை திமுக அரசின் காவல்துறை அத்துமீறி கைது செய்திருப்பதை வன்மையாக கண்டிக்கிறோம்.
இச்சம்பவத்தின் போது காவல்துறையினரால் தாக்கப்பட்டு, தாராபுரம் அரசு மருத்துவமனையில் சிகிச்சை பெற்று வரும் அவரது சகோதரர்… pic.twitter.com/4CnAMmdNdT
— BJP Youth Wing, Tamilnadu (@BJYMinTN) January 18, 2026
கருத்தைக் கருத்தியலால் எதிர்கொள்ளத் திராணியற்ற விடியா தி.மு.க. அரசின் அடக்குமுறை அரங்கேறியுள்ளது!
திருப்பூர் தெற்கு மாவட்ட பா.ஜ.க. இளைஞரணி சமூக ஊடகப் பிரிவு நிர்வாகி தம்பி பாரதி கண்ணனை, எவ்வித சட்ட நடைமுறைகளையும் பின்பற்றாமல் காவல்துறையினர் கைது செய்துள்ளனர். உடன் சென்ற அவரது… pic.twitter.com/XYhmfFvSgX
— BJP Youth Wing, Tamilnadu (@BJYMinTN) January 17, 2026
What Happened
On 17 January 2026, at around 12:30 PM, Bharathi Kannan was taken away in Mulanur, Dharapuram Taluk, Tiruppur district, after a group of eight men in civilian clothes, travelling in a Hyundai Verna, deliberately caused an accident while he was riding a two-wheeler with his brother Lingesh near the Aavin Milk Society. Bharathi Kannan was forcibly apprehended without any arrest memo being shown, without any reason being cited, and without the men identifying themselves as police personnel. Since then, his whereabouts have not been disclosed to his family. His brother Lingesh sustained injuries during the incident and is undergoing treatment at a nearby government hospital. Bharathi Kannan’s parents, Ramasadasivam and Logamani, later approached the Mulanur Police Station to lodge a complaint, but the inspector, Vivekanandan, refused to register it, stating that confirmation from superiors was required. Repeated attempts to contact the Superintendent of Police, Tiruppur (Rural), and the Inspector General of Police, Coimbatore Range, reportedly went unanswered.
The incident has triggered a sharp political reaction from the BJP, which accused the police of acting as enforcers for the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government. The party demanded immediate action against the policemen involved, stating that the law had been openly violated.
Placing the arrest in a broader context, the BJP said the action against Bharathi Kannan was part of a sustained crackdown on its youth wing across Tamil Nadu. The party recalled an earlier incident in which BJP youth wing functionaries were attacked inside a private television office located just metres away from the Police Commissioner’s office in central Chennai. According to the BJP, no cases were registered against the attackers, while police instead booked cases against the BJP workers who were assaulted.
The BJP stated that these cases were later used to justify arrests. Lal Prasad, a state executive committee member of the BJP Youth Wing, was earlier taken into custody and imprisoned during the Pongal court holidays, without due process, the party said.
Subsequently, the Madras High Court granted interim protection to BJP youth wing members and directed that no arrests be made. The BJP said the arrest of Bharathi Kannan amounted to a direct violation of this court order. The party further claimed that Bharathi Kannan and his brother were assaulted during the arrest and that the police have so far refused to disclose his whereabouts since he was taken into custody.
Former Tamil Nadu BJP state president K Annamalai has written to the National Human Rights Commission, seeking intervention in what the party described as an illegal arrest and custodial excess.
தமிழக அரசியலில் கடந்த 75 ஆண்டுகளில் கண்டிராத அடக்குமுறையை ஆளும் தி.மு.க அரசு பாரதிய ஜனதா கட்சி இளைஞரணியின் மீது ஏவியுள்ளது. சென்னையின் மையப்பகுதியில், காவல் ஆணையர் அலுவலகத்தில் இருந்து சில மீட்டர்களே உள்ள தனியார் தொலைகாட்சி அலுவலகத்தில் புகுந்து பா.ஜ.க இளைஞரணி நிர்வாகிகளை… pic.twitter.com/xzZOUIj7RU
— Dr.SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) January 18, 2026
In its statement, the BJP accused the police of targeting opposition party workers across the state instead of focusing on criminals and antisocial elements, and said the developments reflected a breakdown of governance under Chief Minister M. K. Stalin. There was no immediate response from the state government or the police at the time of publication.
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