Police arrested Periyar until he publicly threatened to beat the disguised child to death.
A child disguised as Periyar took part in a private TV show. Venkatesh Kumar from Kovilpatti had posted a death threat on his Facebook page. He had publicly threatened to beat and hang a child who pretended to be Periyar and hang him in public. Venkatesh Kumar had posted that doing so would only frighten other children and their parents.
Kayathar police have registered a case against Venkatesh Kumar under four sections for posting on a social networking site causing panic and law and order problems. He was charged with making a death threat, inciting racial, religious or racial slurs, threatening to disturb the peace, and being arrested under the Information Technology Act. He was later produced in court and remanded in custody.