TVK Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar has sought to explain the early-morning detention of economist Kalaiyarasan, a professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), describing it as a mistake by the local police station, as reported in OneIndia Tamil.
Kalaiyarasan was reportedly picked up by police at around 5 AM and released at approximately 7:30 AM on the same day. According to his complaint, policemen in plain clothes took him away without his consent, seized his mobile phone, and questioned him before dropping him back at his residence.
In his complaint to the police, Kalaiyarasan said the officers told him that an Instagram account had published a defamatory post concerning the Pallavaram MLA, which carried his photograph. The police reportedly said they were taking him in for questioning in connection with the post.
The incident triggered widespread condemnation from political leaders across party lines, including MK Stalin, Seeman, Kanimozhi, P. Shanmugam and Thol. Thirumavalavan.
Responding to the controversy, Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar said the incident was an error on the part of the local police station. He said he had spoken to Kalaiyarasan and intervened with the Chennai Police Commissioner after receiving information about the incident at around 5:30 AM.
Explaining the circumstances that led to the police action, the minister said that a comment concerning the Pallavaram MLA had been posted online along with Kalaiyarasan’s name and photograph. After seeing the comment, the police traced his address and went to his residence.
The minister said the local police station had sent personnel to take him for questioning based on the post. He added that he had personally spoken to Kalaiyarasan and acknowledged that a mistake had been made.
However, the incident has raised questions about the manner in which the police handled the matter. Instead of issuing a summons or contacting the professor through any other means, the police allegedly arrived at his residence in the early hours of the morning and took him away for questioning.
Watch | ”அவரின் பெயர், புகைப்படத்துடன் கமெண்ட் பார்த்ததும் அவரின் முகவரியை கண்டறிந்து போலீசார் சென்றுள்ளனர்..
பொருளாதார நிபுணர் கலையரசன் கைது தொடர்பாக அமைச்சர் நிர்மல் குமார் விளக்கம்
#SunNews | #Kalaiyarasan | #TVK https://t.co/koLDTOimA3
— Sun News (@sunnewstamil) October 29, 2026
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