Bengaluru: Rohan Cariappa and Saravana Bhattacharya Arrested!
The Bengaluru City Police’s Cyber-Crime detained Cariappa and Saravana Bhattacharya on 24th July 2024 for posting a derogatory reel, mocking sign language, interpreters and the Deaf.
The whole Deaf community erupted in anger last week after Bengaluru’s local comedian Rohan Cariappa and his friend Saravana Bhattacharya posted a derogatory reel mocking sign language, interpreters, and Deaf people on Instagram.
ISH released several videos on the issue. You can watch them here:
- Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kyEMDk8OvI
- Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9y8tXWOues
The disrespectful video sparked outrage, with many expressing their fury in the comments section and through direct messages. Due to this backlash, Rohan deleted the video. While he responded to the community’s anger with a video on his Instagram story, he never apologized or said, “I’m sorry.”
ISH translated Rohan’s video to ISL. You can watch it here:
Rohan’s Video in ISL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btu7eZ3K4_0
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) lodged a complaint with the Delhi police, accusing the duo of ridiculing sign language and violating the Right to Life with Dignity, Section 21 of the Constitution, and the IT Act 2000. A similar complaint was filed with the local cybercrime police in Bengaluru.
Shankar BH, President of the Karnataka State Deaf Welfare Association, also filed a complaint, stating that the video threatened the dignity of Deaf people and violated the RPWD Act. The Bengaluru City Police registered an FIR, and here are the pictures of the FIR (insert FIR’s pics).
On the night of 24th July 2024, Bengaluru City Police’s Cyber-Crime unit detained Rohan and Saravana. News of their arrest spread quickly, and hundreds of Deaf people gathered in front of the police commissioner's office.
The police produced them before a court on 25th July 2024. Deaf witnesses identified the accused and gave their statements through interpreters. One witness claimed that Rohan wrote 'sorry' in a half-hearted manner after the arrest, which further enraged the community.
A senior officer mentioned that Cariappa had deleted the reel from his account a few days ago. Shankar told TOI, “The duo has hurt the feelings of Deaf persons by uploading an obscene reel. We appreciate the quick action by city police.”
Keep watching ISH News for more updates.
