Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Sreenath, a documentary maker, and Archana Ravi, an illustrator, both from Kerala, were detained at Panaji Police Station in Goa for an hour due to their possession of a meme criticising the screening of the Hindutva propaganda movie “The Kerala Story” at the International Film Festival of India on Monday, November 27.
Carrying a paper displaying the meme with the caption “Sudipto Sen: The Kerala Story, Source: Trust me bro!” the duo was also distributing a fackect containing debunked claims about the movie. These claims had been widely fact-checked and proven false.
Sreekanth said to Maktoob, “They took our phones and ID cards; we were detained at 5:30 and released an hour later. Although they returned our phones and IDs, our festival passes were confiscated, essentially barring our entry to the film festival.”
Expressing concern over what transpired, Archana conveyed, “I am really worried about a police state.”
She further said that the director, Sudipto Sen, noticed their peaceful protest, leading to a verbal altercation. Soon after, the police intervened and took them to the police station.
