Hyderabad police arrested two YouTube journalists on Wednesday following a complaint by a Congress worker over a video criticising Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
Revathi Pogadadanda, 44, managing director of the YouTube channel Pulse Digital News Network, and Tanvi Yadav, 25, also known as Bandi Sandhya, were taken into custody in a pre-dawn operation. The arrests were linked to a video shot at the headquarters of the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), where they allegedly made “derogatory and abusive remarks.”
According to police, a 40-year-old businessman and State Secretary of the Congress Social Media Cell filed a complaint after coming across the video on March 10. The video, circulated on the X account ‘NippuKodi,’ showed a Pulse TV reporter interviewing an elderly man who made critical remarks about Revanth Reddy. The complainant accused Pulse TV of “deliberately spreading false propaganda” and attempting to defame the Chief Minister.
Authorities deemed the video “provocative” and claimed it could disturb law and order. Acting on the complaint, police arrested the two journalists around 5 a.m. They also seized laptops, hard drives, a Pulse Media mic, a wireless router, and a CPU. A local court has remanded them in judicial custody for 14 days.
Before her arrest, Revathi took to X, writing, “Cops at my doorstep! They want to arrest me… Revanth Reddy wants to pressure me and my family.” She also shared the video and a portion of the FIR, warning that sharing the clip could lead to police action.
Tagging Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, she questioned, “Is this the democracy you talk about? Is this part of the Constitution? Please teach your government Article 19 first!” She accused the Telangana government of stifling free speech and silencing dissenting voices.
Expressing “grave concern” The Editors Guild of India urged the Telangana government to uphold free speech and press freedom. It said, “arresting a journalist in a pre-dawn operation raises serious concerns about the misuse of police force.” While calling for press freedom, the Guild also reminded journalists of their responsibility to report fairly and accurately.
