Shashwati Chowdhury
Published on: June 10, 2022 at 19:38 IST
Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leader Satish Reddy filed a Police Report stating that the event’s organisers used the platform to defame government schemes and falsely accuse Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
Case : (Swaminathan Kunchu Acharya vs. Gujarat State).
Jitta Balakrishna Reddy, a state BJP leader, was arrested on Friday for organising a skit on June 2, Telangana Formation Day, in which actors mocked and represented Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in a negative light.
Reddy was arrested early on Friday by Hayathnagar police and charged with IPC Sections 114 (abettor present at time of offence), Section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and Section 505(2) (statements inciting public mischief, promoting enmity) r/w 109.
The Police in its statement said, “On June, under the leadership state BJP president Bandi Sanjay, Jitta Balakrishna Reddy and Rani Rudrama organised an event in view of Telangana Formation Day and misused the dais for performing a skit (hate act) with the help of BJP cultural team member Daruvu Yellanna and insulted a person who is holding a constitutional post being democratically elected by the people of the state and the same was telecast on a Telugu TV news channel.”
Y Satish Reddy, the social media convenor for the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), filed a complaint with Hayathnagar police station, alleging that the organisers used the platform to defame government schemes and make false accusations against the chief minister and the government with the intent of misleading the public and inciting hatred and unrest.
A case was filed against Bandi Sanjay, Jitta Balakrishna Reddy, Rani Rudrama, Daruvu Yellanna, and his team based on the written complaint. According to an officer, actors made derogatory remarks and personal attacks during the skit, portraying the State’s Chief Minister as a drunkard, cheater, and so on.
According to the FIR, the act went against democratic ethos and harmed public trust by personally targeting and defaming the state’s elected government and Chief Minister.
The arrest was condemned by Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other BJP officials. “What is the reason for the arrest? Did he commit a heinous crime? Is he a murderer? Why such a hurry to arrest him at midnight,” Kumar asked.