Published Jul 04, 2026 | 9:17 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 04, 2026 | 9:17 AM
Bachalakuri Joseph, aka Raavan. (Facebook.com/raavanbezawada)
Synopsis: Three judges had turned down remand requests when it came to Youtuber Raavan. Yet, he has now been arrested for a fourth time. The silence of Pawan Kalyan, whose supporters are running rampant, and the inaction of CM are astounding.
The brazenness with which the Andhra Pradesh police are dealing with YouTuber Raavan is continuing.
After three arrests and the rejection of judicial remand by the respective magistrates in each case, Joseph, alias Raavan, was arrested again late Friday night in another case.
Since June 30, when he was first arrested in Hyderabad because he made “objectionable remarks” against Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, this is the fourth time that the YouTuber has been held as cases continue to be filed at different police stations in Andhra Pradesh by supporters of Pawan Kalyan’s party, Jana Sena.
In the latest instance, the magistrate at Machilipatnam refused to accept the prosecution’s plea to send Raavan to judicial remand. Before, magistrates at Pithapuram and Sarpavaram too had rejected the remand requests.
Once the Machilipatnam court granted bail, police from the Payakaraopet police station in the faraway Anakapalli district were waiting to arrest Raavan. He was promptly put in a police vehicle and driven to Payakaraopet, almost 300 km away.
What Raavan said against Pawan Kalyan was no different from the remarks made by the Deputy Chief Minister himself at a public gathering. “If anyone crosses the line while criticising the government, we will crush them,” Pawan Kalyan said, unmindful of the Constitutional position he holds.
Raavan used similar expressions while criticising the government for misusing the law-and-order machinery and suppressing dissent. Soon, dozens of cases were registered based on complaints lodged by Jana Sena supporters.
Also Read: Citizens aren’t slaves, police aren’t servants of CM or PM, reminds Bombay HC’s Justice Jamdar
Arrests apart, Jana Sena followers are not being stopped from turning belligerent. Eggs were hurled at the vehicle in which Raavan was taken to the Sarpavaram magistrate. On another occasion, dozens of Jana Sena activists attempted to barge into the police station by scaling the compound wall at Inakuduru, where Raavan was kept, in an apparent bid to attack him. Police had to use lathis to disperse them.
“Hand him over to us. We will give him the treatment he deserves,” Jana Sena supporters shouted as police stopped them in their tracks. In an audio conversation that got leaked, Jana Sena followers were heard commenting that they should beat up Raavan at Machilipatnam.
The actions of the Andhra Pradesh police appear to be in clear violation of what the Supreme Court said in the Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar case. The apex court held that police cannot automatically arrest the accused in cases where the maximum punishment is seven years or less.
In a judgment meant to protect the life and liberty of individuals, the court ruled against mechanical arrests simply because an offence is cognisable and non-bailable.
The larger question is the tacit approval of Pawan Kalyan of the unruly behaviour of his supporters. For someone who often speaks about adherence to the law, the silence is astounding despite open threats by his party members.
An even bigger question is why Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is allowing the police to behave the way they are behaving, unmindful of the damage such acts are causing to the government as a whole.
On a recent occasion, Pawan Kalyan even threatened that “things would be different” if only he were the Home Minister and that critics cannot survive in the State. Thankfully, he is not Home Minister yet!
Also Read: Two incidents and how they raise serious questions about Telangana government and police
(Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
