Karnataka hijab row: Who is Chetan Kumar?

Sandalwood actor Chetan Kumar was granted bail after his arrest for tweeting disparaging remarks about a Karnataka HC judge hearing the hijab case

On February 25, Kannada actor and activist Chetan Kumar Ahimsa was granted bail after being arrested for tweeting against one of the judges hearing the hijab case which has become a raging issue in Karnatkaa.

Kannada actor Chetan Kumar granted bail after getting arrested for criticising Justice Krishna Dixit on twitter. Source(Instagram.com)

His bail was granted on the same day that the Karnataka High Court heard the case. The bench has asked all parties to submit written submissions, and the decision has been reserved. While granting bail, the 32nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court ordered the Sandalwood star to post a personal bond of ₹1 lakh and two sureties of ₹1 lakh each.

After his release, Chetan stated that he would not stop tweeting and questioning. "We have the right to question in a democracy. I will not stop questioning, regardless of who is against me," he said.

On February16, Chetan Kumar quote-tweeted an old tweet about Justice Krishna Dixit, who had granted pre-arrest bail in an alleged rape case.

On February 23, the actor was apprehended for questioning by Seshadripuram police of the Central Division for his provocative tweet directed at a High Court judge hearing who is a member of a bench hearing the hijab case. Chetan was arrested and a suo moto case was filed against him, according to the police. MN Anucheth, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), stated that he was charged under sections 505 (2) and 504 of the IPC.

Actor and Activist

Chetan joined Sandalwood by chance, being born and raised in a family full of activists. While his parents are doctors in the United States and his brother is a professor in the United Kingdom, this US citizen enrolled at Yale University and decided to conduct theatre research for his scholarship programme.

"I'm into theatre, and he was touring Karnataka for his research." In 2007, He was looking for a new face for the Kannada film Aa Dinagalu. "He was perfect for the role," says the film's director, KM Chaitanya to The Quint.

“He would have become a professor after his PhD, acting was never part of the agenda,” said his wife Megha S. She started laughing while remembering how Chetan's family reacted to him being on screen she adds, "At first, his father was dissatisfied. He inquired of Chetan as to why he had taken up acting after being accepted into Yale. It wasn't until they saw the movie that they started to accept him in this new role."

Kannada actor Chetan Kumar has been a furious feminist since Aa Dinagalu (those days), according Megha. They met at a party in Delhi. "It was in 2013, when the Aam Aadmi Party was making its political debut. I wasn't as interested in politics back then, but our ideologies were similar," she explains.

Chetan also took part in a massive protest march in Bengaluru on February 19 calling for the suspension of Mallikarjuna Gowda, the then-principal district and sessions judge, who allegedly objected to the placement of BR Ambedkar's portrait next to Mahatma Gandhi's portrait on Republic Day in Raichur. Gowda was later named presiding officer of the Karnataka State Transport Appellate Tribunal in Bengaluru.

His arrest came just a few days after he participated in a protest march organised by pro-Dalit organisations. Chetan is not facing legal action for the first time. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) filed two FIRs against him last year for alleged anti-Brahmins and anti-Brahminism remarks.