Tamil folk singer S Sivadas, popularly known as Kovan, was arrested on Friday after two songs, in which he allegedly makes derogatory remarks about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, went viral online. The cybercrime wing of the Chennai police reached his house at 2 am and charged him with sedition. The songs, Oorkku oorkku sarayam and Moodu Tasmac Moodu, show him critiquing the state policy on alcohol.

Advocate Jim Raj Milton said he had filed a habeas corpus petition in the Madras High Court for Kovan, but had not been allowed to meet him, the Times of India reported. Kovan is associated with a revolutionary movement called Makkal Kalai Ilakkiya Kazhagam or People’s Art and Literary Association, which works to uplift the marginalised through poetry, music and art.