Journalist allegedly threatened by Congress MLA Mynampally Rohith; police yet to register FIR

Srinivas Reddy also said he had been trying to file a complaint for two days, but had been unsuccessful.

He said he submitted his complaint at the Saifabad Police Station in Hyderabad on Wednesday, but did not receive any acknowledgement from the police.

When South First reached out to Circle Inspector (CI) Lakshmikanth Reddy, the police officer said, the complaint hadn’t come to his notice.

“I have been busy with the chief minister’s movements. I know nothing about this,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rohith was unreachable despite efforts to contact him.

Also read: Mynampally Hanumantha Rao, son Rohith join Congress

What happened on 11 December?

Srinivas Reddy told South First about the events of Monday: “Rohith approached me from behind, pulled me by the shoulder, and started shouting at me. He said, ‘Who do you think you are? Are you a thope (great) journalist?'”

He added, “He even threatened me. He said, ‘I will see your end. You end will someday come by my hands’.”

The journalist said he had stayed calm till then. “But when he kept on threatening me, I shouted back at him. I challenged him to kill me then and there so that everyone would know.”

He added: “The argument got heated, and people around us had to intervene and separate us.”

Reason for attack

Asked about the reason behind the scuffle, Srinivas Reddy said it was unprovoked. “Though, I believe my participation in debates on YouTube and TV channels during the election campaign angered him,” he said.

“I predicted that Mynampally Hanumantha Rao would lose the election, and said Rohith’s win was also not sure,” he said. “I have even criticised Hanumantha Rao moving to the Congress from the BRS at the last moment, which seemed to have angered them.”

Srinivas Reddy spoke about Hanumantha Rao on the YouTube channels iDream and MirrorTV

In another YouTube analysis, he called Hanumantha Rao a “veedi rowdy” (street rowdy).

In the same analysis, he claimed that despite the BRS giving Hanumantha Rao a chance while he was not active during the statehood moment, he left the party at the last moment.

Also read: MLA Mynampally Hanumantha Rao quits BRS

‘Don’t know why he would do this’

Asked if he personally knew Rohith or his father Hanumantha Rao, Srinivas Reddy replied in the negative.

He said, “As a journalist working in Medak for many years, I met the leader frequently, like every other journalist. In fact, I even went to Rohith’s engagement with other journalists. We were invited.”

The journalist said he knew Hanumantha Rao from 2004-05, when the leader was part of the Telugu Desam Party. “His father never spoke ill of me or disrespected me. Don’t know why he (Rohith) would do this,” he said

When South First tried to contact Mynampally Rohith, he was unreachable. The story will be updated with his reply.

Meanwhile, a source close to Rohith told South First: “That a journalist was attacked is false. There was already a dispute between both of them, and the journalist was asking for ₹5 lakh, which started the quarrel.”