On March 24, 2025, a group of unidentified individuals disguised as sanitation workers unlawfully entered the residence of YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar. The intruders ransacked his home, terrorized his mother, and smeared filth across various rooms, including the dining table. According to police sources, the attack was motivated by remarks made by Savukku Shankar in a YouTube video, which the intruders deemed offensive to sanitation workers.
Shankar later took to social media, sharing screenshots of a video call made by one of the trespassers using his mother’s phone. Law enforcement was subsequently deployed to prevent further disturbances. Savukku Shankar recounted the attack, stating that while on his way to the office at 9:30 AM, his vehicle was pelted with stones. Simultaneously, a group forcibly broke into his home. He was on a phone call with his mother, attempting to alert her, when the intruders assaulted him. He immediately contacted the police and filed a complaint.
Amid the chaos, Savukku Shankar reiterated his longstanding allegations of corruption against Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Selvaperunthagai. He accused the leader of siphoning funds intended for sanitation workers, claiming that in December 2024, the Chief Minister had allocated 230 sewage treatment vehicles under a government scheme. However, only 87 reached genuine beneficiaries, while the rest were controlled by proxies linked to Selvaperunthagai.
Savukku Shankar alleged that Selvaperunthagai misappropriated Metro Water contract funds, diverting them to a private company while paying sanitation workers a mere ₹20,000 per month and keeping the surplus. He insisted that his video exposed the fraud and defended his stance, stating, “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.”
Furthermore, Shankar accused Congress leader Selvaperunthagai and the Chennai police of orchestrating the attack, pointing out that his residence was a well-kept secret, known only to law enforcement. He claimed that police officials leaked his location to facilitate the attack. Savukku Shankar also alleged that the Chennai Police deliberately closed an investigation to protect an influential figure in the Armstrong murder case. He asserted that the DMK government sought to silence him through threats and intimidation, labeling the attack as a “death threat.”
Incidentally, the attack on Tamil Nadu based journalist Savukku Shankar comes at a time when the leftist, Congressi ecosystem has been crying hoarse alleging that the Kunal Kamra incident is an assault on Freedom of Speech and Expression. For them, the intimidation by the cadres of Eknath Shinde’s outfit aims to muzzle the voice of opposition.
However, despite its shrill hullabaloo, the opposition has maintained conspicous silence over the rampant attacks on journalists in non-BJP ruled states be it the attacks on Former Army personnel for sharing harmless cartoons, jailing Marathi Actress Ketaki Chitale, shaving dissenters head, attacks on BJP supporters and leaders in Bengal. More recently, the blatant threat by a sitting Congress Chief Minister warning “stripping” and being “paraded naked” for the crime of trolling, doesn’t pose a threat to Free Speech for the leftist. In fact, the notorious figure being talked at the centre of the recent row had endorsed state’s vendetta against its dissenters as he reacted to the demolition of Kangana Ranaut’s house saying, he enjoyed it (Mere ko accha laga… accha kiya). For better or worse, the karma cycle has come full circle for alleged comedian cum reluctant politician Kunal Kamra.
