Hyderabad: Tolivelugu journalist Raghu Ramakrishna was arrested by Mattampally police near the city police near his home in Malkajgiri on Thursday. He was picked up by the cops while allegedly trying to buy groceries during the lockout.
Prior to the news of his arrest, it was first reported that he had been abducted. According to a police statement, it was later confirmed that he had been taken away by the police. He is a 34-year-old journalist who has written for Tolivelugu and other media. Ramakrishna is a well-known critic of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the state.
Recently, Raghu Ramakrishna wrote articles on his website Tolivelugu.com that were apparently ‘sensational’, sources said. On the other hand, he also regularly interviews advocates of Telangana and those who strongly oppose the ruling TRS.
According to a statement to his wife, the Mattampally police station said Raghu was arrested near his home on June 3 at 12:45 p.m. He was notified of the grounds for his arrest and was later brought before a local court before being held in judicial custody.
Police in Mattampally against Raghu registered a case under sections 146,147 and 148 (riot), 332 and 333 (which voluntarily hurt to deter civil servants from his duty) along with 149 (illegal assembly) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) ), except for the relevant sections of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932. Exact details of the case are awaited.
As reported by News Minute, Sravan Dasoju, spokesperson for the All India Congress Committee (AICC), said in a statement: “Raghu, who is fighting against the TRS government and continuously spreading awareness on public affairs, needs to be rescued.” “A very agile journalist with a wonderful understanding of social issues and belonging to the backward class. The TRS government is solely responsible for the safety of Raghu and immediate steps must be taken to prevent any undesirable developments in this regard.”
Sravan Kumar also took to Twitter and wrote: ‘Condemns #Telangana #ToliVelugu #JournalistRaghu for kidnapping unknown Goons. Government will be held accountable for anything that happens to him. Appeal 2 @ TelanganaDGP @ RachakondaCop @CPHydCity @cpcybd to protect him .. @ANI @PramodChturvedi @PTI_News @PressC Council_IN @ TSChairmanNati1. ”
Congress also demanded that the Telangana State Academy of Journalism, Alam Narayana, issue a statement and put pressure on the government to view this incident as an attack on the media and its freedom of expression.
Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay also condemned the arrest in a series of tweets on scientific media and said he would discuss the issue with the union government.
Bandi Sanjay took it on Twitter and wrote, ” Will journalists be arrested for pointing out the shortcomings of government in our society? Some leaders of the ruling party have occupied tribal lands in the Gurrampode Thanda of the Huzur Nagar constituency. He was booked to discuss the matter in the media. ”
‘The task of the media is to highlight corruption and wrongdoing in public. The KCR government wants to silence the media and give a message that cases will be brought against the leaders of the ruling party. He noted that he had played a crucial role in encouraging the establishment of the state, and wondered how a major journalist could be abducted 24 hours before the state celebrated its formation day. “What happened to Raghu today could happen to another journalist tomorrow,” he tweeted.
Source: The Siasat Daily