CHENNAI: Popular freelance cartoonist G Bala was arrested by the crime branch wing last week, for a cartoon he posted on social media criticising the district administration and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. The arrest was made on the basis of a complaint filed by Tirunelveli District Collector Sandeep Nandui, who was also caricatured in the cartoon along with the city police chief. Journalists across Chennai staged a protest on Monday in response to the action. The cartoon was uploaded a couple of days after a man and his wife set themselves and their two kids afire due to harassment by a money-lender. The incident had attracted widespread condemnation from political parties and civil society groups over usury.