New Delhi: Tamil Nadu cartoonist G Bala alias Balakrishnan, who was arrested for an "objectionable cartoon" and granted bail 24 hours later, on Monday said that he didn't regret drawing the caricature, and will continue doing the same.
Bala, 36, was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by Tirunelveli District Collector Sandeep Nanduri, who was also caricatured in the cartoon along with the city police chief.
Earlier, police sources had said the chief minister was depicted allegedly in a distasteful manner in the cartoon which was uploaded on a website on October 26.
Bala told CNN-News18 that he felt very sad when he saw the children of the family burning in flames. "I felt very sad, so I depicted my emotions through that cartoon. I had no intention to hurt anyone," he said.
Bala said that he just expressed his freedom through this cartoon. "If the collector felt bad, I have nothing to say. I didn't make any mistake."
The cartoon was uploaded days after a man and his wife set themselves and their two kids afire at the Tirunelveli Collectorate complex allegedly due to harassment by a money-lender. While the woman and her two children died on the day of the incident on October 23, the man succumbed to injuries later. The incident drew widespread condemnation from political parties and civil society groups over usury.
Family head Muthu resorted to the extreme step as the money-lender was harassing him demanding more money despite him having returned Rs 2.34 lakh, including interest, for a loan of Rs 1.40 lakh, his brother had alleged. The police had later arrested three persons, including the financier and his wife, in connection with the incident.
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