News Tamil Nadu

YouTuber Savukku Shankar’s House Attacked; Alleges It Was Retaliation For Exposing TN Congress Chief Selvaperunthagai’s Hygiene Workers Vehicle Purchase Scam

March 24, 2025
The Commune

A gang of unknown individuals, disguised as sanitation workers, unlawfully entered the residence of YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar on 24 March 2025. They ransacked his home, terrorized his mother, and smeared filth across the rooms and dining table.

According to police sources, the intruders were allegedly angered by remarks Shankar made in one of his YouTube videos, which they found offensive toward sanitation workers. Shankar later shared details of the incident on social media, posting screenshots of a video call made by one of the trespassers using his mother’s phone. In response, police were deployed to prevent any further disturbances.

Speaking to the media, ‘Savukku’ Shankar recounted the attack, stating that while he was on his way to the office at 9:30 AM, stones were thrown at his vehicle. Meanwhile, a group of individuals forcibly broke into his house while he was on a phone call with his mother to alert her. They allegedly attacked him upon entry. He immediately contacted the police control room and filed a complaint. According to Shankar, the intruders also took his mother’s phone and used it to make a video call to him.

Shankar reiterated his past allegations of corruption involving Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Selvaperunthagai. He claimed that in December of the previous year, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister had allocated 230 sewage treatment vehicles to sanitation workers, supported by both Central and State government funds. However, only 87 vehicles reportedly reached genuine beneficiaries, while the rest were allegedly controlled by proxies linked to Selvaperunthagai. According to Shankar, Selvaperunthagai had misused funds from Metro Water contracts, investing them in a private company while only paying sanitation workers ₹20,000 per month and keeping the remaining amount for himself. He asserted that he had presented evidence of this corruption in one of his videos.

He said, “There has been a huge scam in the purchase of vehicles for sanitation workers. The sanitation workers have been cheated. I spoke in support of them, highlighting that the money rightfully meant for them is been deceived by the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Selvaperunthagai in order to exploit their earnings. Of course, I have never spoken against sanitation workers anywhere.”

He later said, “Congress Committee President Selvaperunthagai and Ravikumar Narayanan have conspired to cheat sanitation workers by registering around 230 vehicles under the names of people associated with Selvaperunthagai and siphoning off the money. I have that he personally signs contracts with a company for all these vehicles, deceiving the sanitation workers. That is what I was pointing out. I was only advocating for real sanitation workers to receive the benefits they deserve. I did not say anything against them or in a derogatory manner.”

Shankar accused Congress leader Selvaperunthagai and the Chennai police of orchestrating the attack. He also pointed out that his current residence was a well-kept secret, as he had moved there only three months ago after his previous home in Maduravoyal was sealed. No one, except the police, knows the address. He alleged that law enforcement officials had leaked his location to facilitate the attack.

Further, Shankar accused the Chennai Police of hastily closing an investigation to shield an ‘influential individual’ from being implicated in the Armstrong murder case. He claimed that the DMK government was attempting to silence him and his media outlet, Savukku Media, by issuing threats and trying to shut them down.

Shankar described the attack as a direct intimidation tactic meant to force him to cease his work. He stated that threats to shut down Savukku Media had been ongoing for a long time, but this incident felt like a final warning. “They barged into my house, threw waste on the dining table and bedrooms—this is a message telling me to stop my media operations,” he said.

He condemned the incident as an example of the extreme measures the government was willing to take to suppress dissent. He equated this instance to a death threat, stating, “For so long, I have been threatened with false legal cases. Today, my mother’s life, my life, and the lives of those with me are in danger. I see this as a direct death threat to me. If you dump feces in the living house, how can you live in here? What could be a more extreme attack than this? Think about it. They have thrown feces and left it on the dining table. How will you live in here? They have broken the back door of the house. Now, where will I stay tonight? I see this as a threat that suggests you should not live at all.”

Additionally, he claimed that images obtained during a police investigation were being misused to create defamatory posters against him. Despite the threats, Shankar vowed to file a formal complaint regarding the attack on his home and continue exposing corruption

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