CHENNAI: The Avadi Cyber Crime police on Monday arrested right wing YouTuber S Karthik Gopinath for swindling ₹36 lakh which he collected from people to renovate temple statues.
A resident of Muthapudupet, Gopinath is a YouTuber and self-proclaimed nationalist who is known to post videos criticizing the DMK government. He runs a YouTube channel named Ilaya Bharatham with 2.08 lakh subscribers.
Based on a complaint from T Aravindhan, Executive Officer of Arulmigu Madhura Kaliamman Temple in Siruvachur, police registered a case.
"He asked people to donate money through Milaap fundraiser site for renovation of statues of sub temples of Arulmigu Mathura Kaliamman Temple without any permission from the HR&CE department. He wrongfully used this amount for his own purpose," said a senior police officer.
His arrest sparked heated conversations on social media as BJP state president K Annamalai and party leader H Raja condemned the arrest.
