custom-ads

Attack on journalist Savukku Shankar’s residence sparks outrage

The incident has sparked widespread condemnation. Shankar said the police advised him not to return home due to safety concerns.

k. Nitika Shivani

Published Mar 24, 2025 | 9:51 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 24, 2025 | 9:51 PM

Savukku Sankar said the mob barged into his house around 9:30 am on Monday, 24 March.

Savukku Sankar said the mob barged into his house around 9:30 am on Monday, 24 March.

Synopsis: A mob vandalised the house of independent journalist Savukku Shankar on Monday, and threatened his mother. The journalist said the mob sported the uniform of sanitation workers, and accused the police of complicity. 

Independent journalist and political commentator Savukku Shankar has alleged that his residence in Chennai was attacked by a group of around 50 people dressed as sanitation workers.

Shankar, who took to his X platform to report the incident, claimed that the mob entered his home at 9:30 am on Monday, 24 March, vandalised the property, and dumped waste inside the residence.

 

Shankar said the assailants arrived just five minutes after he had left home.

“A group of 50 people, claiming to be sanitation workers, launched an attack on my house, where my mother and I reside. They broke down the door, entered the house, and smeared sewage and human waste across the bedrooms, kitchen, and various household items,” he said.

Also Read: Savukku Shankar on media, accountability and targeted harassment

Police accused of complicity

He alleged that the attackers snatched away his mother’s phone when she tried to contact him. “They took my mother’s phone, came on a video call, and issued death threats,” he alleged.

Despite immediately alerting the police control room, Shankar said the response was inadequate.

“Only one sub-inspector and a constable arrived at the scene. As of 11:43 am, the attackers are still there, and journalists who came to report on the incident are also being assaulted,” he wrote.

Hinting at political motives behind the attack, Shankar stated, “It is not difficult to understand who is behind this attack.” He claimed that police advised him against returning home for safety reasons.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Shankar’s allegation of corruption in distributing sewer cleaning machines infuriated the sanitation workers.

Shankar later released CCTV footage, showing the attackers spreading waste inside his home.

He also accused Vaanishree Vijayakumar, a supporter of Tamil Nadu Congress leader Selvaperunthagai K, of broadcasting a Facebook Live video during the attack in which his mother was threatened.

The attack and the alleged delay in police action led to widespread criticism.

 

Annamalai slams DMK government 

Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai condemned the attack, and accused the DMK government of suppressing dissent.

“The DMK government is engaging in undemocratic actions—filing cases against those who expose corruption, sending police to intimidate them at midnight, and even arresting them under the Goonda Act,” he said.

Annamalai further questioned the inaction of the police, despite the mob staying in the house for nearly three hours.

“If the police remain inactive even after such a serious incident, it is clear whose instructions they are following,” he said, adding that such actions were unacceptable in a democracy.

 

Also Read: Human rights body condemns Savukku Shankar’s ‘torture’

Call for legal action

Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Bussy Anand also condemned the attack.

“If someone’s criticism is unacceptable, they should be countered through legal means. Instead, resorting to such thuggish behavior in a home where an elderly mother resides is highly condemnable,” he said.

Anand urged the authorities to initiate legal action against those responsible for the attack.

 

‘Planned violence’ 

Congress leader Karti P Chidambaram termed the attack “highly condemnable and gross.”

He urged the Tamil Nadu police to take immediate action against the perpetrators, warning that failure to do so would further erode public trust in law enforcement.

 

AMMK party member TTV Dhinakaran felt the incident was an act of “planned violence” and condemned the police for their delayed response.

“This orchestrated attack on Shankar’s home is the height of indecency. It is appalling that even after a formal complaint, the police have remained inactive,” he said.

 

Call for CM’s intervention  

With growing political pressure and public outrage, demands were made for Chief Minister MK Stalin’s direct intervention.

Shankar, in his social media posts, repeatedly urged the chief minister to acknowledge the incident and take decisive action. Meanwhile, the police have yet to issue an official statement on the attack.

Public opinion 

Several citizens, too, condemned the attack. Preeti Ramadoss, founder of Manithee, said the police had gone out of control.

“It’s a very scary state of affairs in TN. The TN police is going completely out of control. If this is how a govt uses police to threaten those who speak up against the govt, then it’s really scary,” she wrote on X.

 

“Forcing poor sanitary workers for political revenge is shameful. Are the sanitary workers DMK henchmen? This is a human rights violation for both parties. The law-and-order situation under your rule is laughable,” stated activist Shalin Maria Lawrence.

 

(Edited by Majnu Babu).

Follow us