Actor Kasturi Shankar dismisses missing rumours: Did not run away or hide

Actor Kasturi Shankar was arrested on Saturday by Tamil Nadu Police in Hyderabad in connection with her remarks against Telugu-speaking people living in Tamil Nadu. Earlier reports emerged that Shankar was missing after a complaint was filed against her and several social media users alleged that she might have absconded.
A video which the actor recorded before she was arrested has surfaced.
Kasturi recorded a video on an associate’s phone to address absconding rumours. “I did not run away or hide. I was at my home in Hyderabad, finishing my shoot. I cooperated fully with the authorities,” Kasturi said in the video.
She also clarified that she had given her phone to her lawyer to avoid distractions and was unaware of the rumours.
“I saw a smear campaign claiming I absconded. That’s false. Just for the record, I am cooperating,” she said as she was escorted by Egmore Police.
Before boarding the police vehicle, Kasturi chanted, “This arrest is the result of a political vendetta. Let truth triumph.”
Shankar is currently placed in Puzhal Prison in Chennai. Further investigation into the case is underway.
The case, which was first filed by the Telugu association members in Tamil Nadu, alleges that the actor made divisive comments during a protest on November 3.
“The Telugu-speaking community came as assistants to the king’s consort and later adopted a Tamil identity,” the Telugu association in Tamil Nadu had claimed in a complaint.
Responding to the complaint, the actor later issued a public apology.
Despite her apology, Tamil Nadu Police filed a case in four sections of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Shankar filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail, which the court had denied.