New Delhi: Social media influencer Santosh Pandit, who regularly posts videos highlighting civic issues, including potholes and damaged roads, was arrested by Pune Police on Thursday.
A case was registered at Kothrud Police Station following a complaint by a Pune resident, who allegedly accused Pandit of uploading defamatory and objectionable posts and videos on his YouTube account targeting Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Chandrakant Patil.
According to the FIR, an earlier video shot near SNDT College on Karve Road featured a photograph of Patil. While Pandit did not directly name the minister, the FIR alleges that he used objectionable and obscene language while questioning him over civic issues and problems faced by residents in the area.
A video circulated on social media shows police taking Pandit into custody during the early hours of Thursday, at around 1:28 am.
An FIR was registered under Sections 75 (1) (iv), 75 (3), 356 (2) and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, ANI reported.
Further investigation is underway.
Pandit’s videos on Pune’s civic issues
Pandit, who has around 93,500 followers on Instagram and 1.39 million subscribers on YouTube, posts videos from different parts of Pune, focusing on issues such as public transport, damaged roads and other civic problems.
In several videos, he can also be seen questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on various public and civic issues.
In a video captioned “Modi ji ka sapna, viksit desh ho apna”, Pandit shared footage of a malfunctioning bus being towed by another vehicle, highlighting the poor conditions of the city’s public transport.
In another video, Pandit appears to question the Pune Police Commissioner over civic and development issues while pointing to a damaged sewer cover on a road. Two flower garlands can be seen placed around the broken cover, apparently portraying it as a tribute to “dead” civic infrastructure.
Pandit’s videos often receive thousands, and at times millions, of views, with viewers praising his efforts in the comments section.
“This man has revived accountability culture,” one comment on his Instagram video read.
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‘Social media hero’
In another social media video posted in 2025, captioned ‘The situation is very good’, Pandit appeared to take a sarcastic dig at the government by showing a broken sewer cover in the middle of the road, with vehicles passing close to it.
Through his videos highlighting civic issues and questioning alleged government negligence, Pandit has become a popular voice among many. His arrest quickly drew criticism on social media, with people questioning the police and the government over the action against him.
“He had shown the potholes on Pune’s roads, exposed Champa’s alleged corruption, and highlighted politicians’ cars with incorrect number plates. This must have been their mistake…” one user wrote on X.
“What a pathetic system! He was the man of action working for common man issues,” said another user.
Edited by Maryam Hassan