Journalist Krishnam Raju, who made the controversial comment, has been named as the prime accused in the case.
Published Jun 09, 2025 | 2:28 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 09, 2025 | 2:28 PM
Kommineni Srinivasa Rao was arrested at his residence in Hyderabad.
Synopsis: The police arrested the journalist under various sections of the BNS, IT Act, and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The accused allegedly did not prevent or condemn another journalist who made a statement, derogatory to the women in Amaravati, during a TV debate.
Andhra Pradesh police arrested Kommineni Srinivasa Rao, a journalist with Sakshi television channel, from his residence at Journalists’ Colony in Hyderabad on Monday, June 9, in connection with alleged derogatory comments made against women in Amaravati.
Rao, named as Accused No. 2 (A2) in the case, was taken to Vijayawada and is likely to be produced in the Guntur or Mangalagiri court.
The case stems from a debate aired on Sakshi TV a few days ago, during which journalist Krishnam Raju, named as Accused No. 1 (A1), described Amaravati as a “capital of sex workers” rather than a “capital of Gods,” as claimed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Moderating the debate, Srinivasa Rao allegedly supported Raju’s remarks by cautioning him about potential backlash, which police claim made him an accomplice since he did not, per se, condemn the comments. The Sakshi channel management is listed as Accused No. 3 (A3) in the First Information Report (FIR).
The comments sparked widespread outrage, with women’s associations and political parties condemning the remarks and demanding the immediate arrest of both journalists.
Protests erupted across Andhra Pradesh, with women’s groups organising rallies and filing complaints at multiple police stations, including Thullur in the Amaravati region.
Kambhampati Sirisha, chairperson of the State Madiga Corporation, complained that the comments were derogatory and their impact on the Madiga community, prompting police to invoke sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, along with the Information Technology Act.
The FIR, registered on Sunday evening, 8 June, at Thullur police station, includes non-bailable charges under sections 79, 196(1), 635(2), 299, 356(2), 61(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Section 67 of the IT Act, and Section 3(1) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Following the registration of the case, a special police team travelled to Hyderabad and arrested Srinivasa Rao. Rao questioned the police’s authority to detain him without prior notice or a warrant, but they presented the FIR and took him into custody after informing the Jubilee Hills police in Hyderabad and the Thullur police in the Amaravati region.
Meanwhile, police are searching for Raju, whose Vijayawada residence at Ayodhyanagar was found locked. Authorities believe he is in Hyderabad and expressed hope to apprehend him by Monday evening. Raju issued a statement apologising for any unintended hurt caused, and said that he had high respect for women. He clarified that his remarks were not meant to offend.
Srinivasa Rao also expressed regret, denying direct involvement in derogatory comments and stating that any hurt caused was unintentional. Sakshi channel distanced itself from Raju’s remarks, asserting his words did not reflect the channel’s views.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
