‘Revanth Reddy wants to silence me’: Uproar as 2 Telangana journalists held over farmer video case

State: Telangana

Year: 2025

Date: March 12, 2025

Source:

https://www.newslaundry.com/2025/03/12/revanth-reddy-wants-to-silence-me-uproar-as-2-telangana-journalists-held-over-farmer-video-case

Arrests – Journalists

It’s not the first time Revathi Pogadadanda has accused the state government of targeting her.
The detention of two journalists in Hyderabad has triggered an uproar in Telangana with the opposition accusing the Revanth Reddy government of “authoritarian tactics”.
Revathi Pogadadanda and her colleague Tanvi Yadav were detained from their residences on Wednesday morning. Around 12 officials had reportedly arrived at Revathi’s home and seized mobile phones and laptops belonging to the journalist and her husband.
The move comes days after Revathi posted a video on her digital news platform Pulse News Break showing an elderly farmer making allegedly derogatory remarks against Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. A case was lodged against an unidentified X user based on a complaint from Congress leaders. Police on Thursday said they were investigating the same case.

Arrests

Updated On: March 17, 2025

"Organised Crime" Charge Dropped Against 2 Journalists Arrested In Telangana

The journalists had posted a video on their X account in which a man allegedly made “derogatory” and “abusive” remarks about Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.

A Hyderabad court on Monday dropped a key charge of ‘organised crime’ against two journalists who were arrested for posting and amplifying allegedly abusive content against the Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. According to the court, the charge cannot be imposed on the two journalists as it was not an organised crime and there were “no monetary transactions made”.

Two journalists – Pogadadanda Revathi, Managing Director of Pulse News, and Thanvi Yadav, a reporter for the same channel – were arrested by the Hyderabad Police’s Cyber Crime division last week. A third individual – the user of an X account titled ‘NippuKodi’ – is also under scrutiny.

Source:

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/in-setback-for-revanth-reddy-court-drops-key-charge-of-organised-crime-against-2-journalists-7942069

Arrests

Updated On: March 16, 2025

‘Will strip and parade those using abusive language’: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy

Rejecting criticism over the recent arrests of two journalists, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy suggested amending laws governing media freedom to impose strict punishments for abusive content.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy lashed out at the use of abusive language against his family in the name of political criticism. He threatened to “strip” and “parade” such offenders on the streets. He also proposed amendments to laws governing media freedom and redefining who qualifies as a journalist in the era of online journalism.

Speaking about the arrests of two journalists—Revathi Pogadadanda and Thanvi Yadav—in the Assembly on Saturday, March 16, he stressed the need to establish clear criteria for identifying journalists. The two journalists were arrested by the Hyderabad cybercrime police for sharing a clip of a farmer abusing Revanth Reddy, his mother, and the Telangana Congress, alleging that the state government had failed to provide adequate welfare.

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