Kovan alias Sivadass, an activist of the People’s Art and literary Association, who has been staging street plays and dramas demanding the closure of all liquor shops in Tamil Nadu, has been arrested by the Chennai Police on Friday.

Kovan was picked up by a special team of Chennai Police from Tiruchirappalli and was brought to the capital city. According to sources in Chennai Police, Kovan has been arrested on charges of sedition. A senior Intelligence wing official said that the PAlA was a frontal organisation launched by the CPI (Ml) and Kovan has been heading the cultural wing of the outfit. Kovan has been charged with sections 124-A (sedition), 153 (wanton provocation with intent to cause riots) and 505 (1).

‘Comrade’ Kovan, Tiruchirappalli district functionary of art and literary outfit Makkal Kalai Ilakkiya Kazhagam, was arrested under various sections of the IPC early this morning from his residence, police said.

“The uploaded electronic content like videos and lyrics were seditious, provoked people against the State, and were highly defamatory of the Government, and CM Jayalalithaa,” a top police official told PTI.

“Such content had highly seditious, slanderous direct references including images, and lyrics, to the Government and CM Jayalalithaa,” he added.

“We are in the process of blocking such seditious and defamatory videos,” another senior official said, adding the lyrics including Moodu Tasmacai Moodu (Shut down TASMAC, retail chain of liqour stores run by the Government) were provocative and just illegal.

“Such content had (some) slanderous references to DMK chief Karunanidhi too (over liqour vending by State).” “Process to produce him in the court is on, anytime, he will be produced in the Egmore Magistrate court,” the official said. The alleged defamatory content in the form of videos were uploaded in some Tamil websites.