According to the police, the video showed a representative from Pulse TV channel conducting a ‘provocative interview’ that contained derogatory remarks and disrespectful comments against Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy (in picture). File photo
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
In a dramatic arrest, Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police took two Youtubers into custody for allegedly circulating abusive and defamatory content online, targeting Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
The accused have been identified as Pogadadanda Revathi, aged 44, the Managing Director of Pulse News (Purple Crow Media Inc.) and Bandi Sandhya, also known as Thanvi Yadav, 25, a reporter for Pulse News.
The case came to light following a complaint by Kailash, a 40-year-old businessman, serving as the State Secretary of the Congress Social Media Cell in Hyderabad, who discovered an abusive video circulating on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on March 10, 2025.
According to the police, the video showed a representative from Pulse TV channel conducting a ‘provocative interview’ that contained derogatory remarks and disrespectful comments against the Chief Minister.
The video was posted by the X (formerly Twitter) profile @NippuKodi and was amplified widely, which was likely to divisions and create law and order issues in Hyderabad and the state, the police said on Wednesday briefing newspersons.
“We arrested Revathi from her residence in the Financial District while Sandhya was arrested from her Kothur residence early on Wednesday after establishing their involvement in making and promoting false propaganda through social media,” Hyderabad Additional Commissioner of Police (Crimes) P Viswa Prasad said.
“Such content was shared in an attempt to increase the reach and viewership. We are launching a detailed probe into the financial transactions to see how the viewership has increased and incomes have increased,” the official said.
Mr Prasad also said that the media channel was supported by a political party. “As of preliminary investigation, the video is shot in the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) office in Banjara Hills. The person who was seen making the derogatory remarks will also be identified and liable for legal action,” he said.
Meanwhile, searches were initiated in the office of Pulse TV located in Patrika Nagar, Madhapur and incriminating evidence including electronic devices linked to the case, including two laptops, two hard disks, a microphone, a TP-Link wireless router, and seven CPUs were seized.
These devices have been sent for analysis to the Telangana Forensics Science Laboratory (FSL), the official informed.
Revathi has a prior record, including her involvement in a case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Banjara Hills, where she was accused of verbally abusing a Dalit person. She was also named in another case in LB Nagar, for making false allegations against the Telangana State Power Distribution Company Limited through her social media handles including X profile @revathitweets.
Sandhya was known for her social media activity, where she allegedly posted several abusive videos targeting the state government and the Chief Minister.
The Editors Guild of India, in a statement, expressed concern over the arrest. “Ms. Pogadadanda was reportedly taken from her home, along with her husband, at the crack of dawn. The arrest of a journalist-particularly in a pre-dawn operation raises serious concerns about the use of police force in such matters,” the official press release read.
“The Guild calls upon the Telangana government to safeguard Ms. Pogadadanda’s rights and personal safety,” it further said.
The police have warned that creating or amplifying false and defamatory content online is a punishable offence under the Information Technology Act, and legal action will be taken against those found guilty of inciting public unrest through social media.
Published – March 13, 2025 09:37 am IST