FIR against AP police after arrest of journalist KV Reddy

The FIR comes a day after KV Reddy's wife filed a police complaint at the Saroornagar station that unidentified persons, claiming to be AP police, forcibly took her husband.

Hyderabad: Telangana police on Thursday, July 2, registered a first information report (FIR) against Andhra Pradesh police personnel who arrested Hyderabad-based YouTube political commentator K Venkatrami Reddy.

The FIR comes days after KV Reddy’s wife filed a police complaint at the Saroornagar station that unidentified persons, claiming to be AP police, forcibly took her husband late Tuesday, June 30, and assaulted her as well.

B Joseph, known by his channel name Raavan of Prashna, who was arrested the same night, was granted bail after appearing before a district magistrate.

Meanwhile, the Saroornagar police, acting on the wife’s complaint, registered a case against AP’s Bobbili Circle Inspector Srinivas Rao, while Reddy remained in the custody of the police.

Reddy’s wife, in her complaint, contended that even if the men belonged to the Andhra Pradesh Police, they were required to be in uniform, carry identification and inform the family of the case details and arrest particulars, besides producing her husband before the local magistrate, as mandated by the Supreme Court’s guidelines on arrest procedure. She also sought police protection for her family.

The journalists were reportedly arrested because of objectionable remarks made against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan.

YSRCP alleges police aggression

Chinna Venkatappala Naidu, former Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) MLA, claimed he was aggressively treated by the police when he went to inquire about the imprisoned Reddy. He alleged that the police denied a face-to-face meeting with Reddy, allowing juat a brief phone call.

Accusing the police of operating the station like personal property, the former MLA criticized the authorities’ conduct. Even though Reddy finished his medical examination by mid-afternoon on Wednesday, July 1, police reportedly failed to produce him before a magistrate. Instead, investigators took him to the court premises and brought him back to the station for additional interrogation, Naidu said.