Unfazed by 2 FIRs, cartoonist Bala is back with scribble on his arrest, Ragu death

Cartoonist Bala has done it yet again. Just a day after an FIR was registered against him, he has hit back with his latest cartoon about his arrest and the killing of Ragu.

An unsafe wooden structure installed for MGR centenary celebrations claimed the life of 31-year-old engineer from the US, Ragu, on the streets of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. After the news of his death broke, the words 'Who Killed Ragu?' were seen painted on the road at the spot of the accident.

On Tuesday, the Chennai police filed the second FIR against Bala and two other journalists for staging a protest against the cartoonist's earlier arrest.

According to Bala, "Chennai Press Club is a 100 meters away from the nearest busy road and on the day of protest only two banners were tied upon the name boards of the press club. For unknown reasons, the Police have filed an FIR over traffic disruption. The government is inefficient and only worries about holding on to power."

"They are only chasing journalists and trying to scare them instead of acting upon real problems," stated Bala.

"They should be ashamed for what they are doing. No action has been taken against loan sharks and last week a man died after hitting an illegal wooden arch on the road. But this government is running behind his friends for an alleged graffiti on the site of his death", he added.

Bala was earlier arrested in the first week of November after a defamatory case was registered against him on account of a caricature that allegedly depicted Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy in a distasteful manner.

The caricature was published following an incident where a couple and their two children immolated themselves at the collectorate, alleging police inaction on a usury complaint.

With inputs from Akshaya Nath in Chennai

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