Office of YouTuber Teenmaar Mallanna attacked in Telangana; BJP blames BRS leaders

Unidentified assailants entered the office — located in Peerjadiguda in the Medchal district — and destroyed furniture and computers.

BySumit Jha

Published Mar 19, 2023 | 10:54 PMUpdatedMar 19, 2023 | 10:55 PM

The ransacked office of Q News. (Supplied)

The office of controversial YouTuber and journalist Chintapandu Naveen, who is better known by his screen name Teenmaar Mallanna and runs YouTube channel Q News, was attacked by an unidentified man on Sunday, 19 March.

Unidentified assailants entered the office — located in Peerjadiguda under the Medipally Police Station in the Medchal district — and destroyed furniture and computers.

After the incident, the accused fled the spot. Mallanna was not in the office at that time.

“We are investigating the case. Around 15-20, people came and attacked the office of Q News. No arrests have been made as of now. We have registered a case against the attackers,” an official from the Medipally Police Station told South First.

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Mallanna, team blame BRS for attack

Teenmar Mallanna’s team, going live on its YouTube channel, alleged that supporters of Telangana Minister of Labour and Employment Chamakura Malla Reddy were behind the attack.

It should be mentioned that being a critic of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, he was jailed for 73 days under various charges — including extortion and under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act — in December 2020. He was booked in a total of 38 cases.

Many of the cases filed against him were for criticising KCR, his son KTR, and his daughter K Kavitha. His arrest was seen as a political vendetta by the TRS government.

He joined BJP in December 2021, but moved away from the party due to differences. He continues to be a vocal critic of the BRS in the state.

Chintapandu Naveen, also known as Teenmaar Mallanna. (Supplied)

Chintapandu Naveen, also known as Teenmaar Mallanna. (Supplied)

Mallanna gained prominence in the 2021 biennial election for the Nalgonda-Warangal-Khammam Graduates’ constituency in the Legislative Council, where he — as an independent candidate — put up a tough fight against what was then the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and emerged as a strong contender, upsetting others.

He secured a surprising 83,520 votes, while TRS candidate Palla Rajeshwar emerged victorious with 1,11,090 votes.

His Q News Channel has 1.7 million subscribers on YouTube.

In recent times, he has been vocal about the involvement of K Kavitha — also an MLC — the in Delhi liquor scam, and has run episodes criticising her. Some have even been seen as personal attacks on her.

On 18 March, BRS leaders filed a complaint against Mallanna with the state women’s commission alleging that he was constantly making inappropriate, offensive, and perverted comments against Kavitha.

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BRS attacking media organisation: BJP

After the attack on the Q News office, Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged that the BRS was attacking the media and that this was an attack on democracy.

“We strongly condemn the attack on the Q news office today. We consider the attack on the media an attack on democracy,” said Sanjay in a tweet on Sunday.

He continued: “Reminiscent of a monarchy, KCR’s son is suspected to be behind these attacks. KCR’s family and BRS leaders are unable to bear it if the government’s mistakes are questioned. The BRS has developed a habit of insulting, attacking, and banning media organisations. It is threatening media organisations if they do not listen to what has been said.”

Sanjay continued: “Banning of the V6 news channel and the Velugu daily is part of this. All these attacks are predictable. There is a risk of more attacks in the future.”

He warned: “All the people of the state are observing the behaviour of the BRS leaders. They are all waiting for the time when KCR will be ousted from the government.”

He added that the people who attacked the Q News office should be arrested immediately.

“A criminal case should be registered and a thorough investigation should be conducted. We demand that the state department severely punish whoever is guilty.”

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