YouTuber ‘Prashna’ Raavan, who was detained by the Andhra Pradesh police over his comments against Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on June 30, continues to remain in police custody three days later, despite securing bail in two different cases so far.
While he was initially picked up by the Pithapuram police and granted station bail by a magistrate on July 1, Raavan was immediately arrested again by the Sarpavaram police in a different case from 2025.
Lawyer and politician Jada Sravan Kumar said that Raavan’s remand was rejected by the magistrate again on July 2.
The Sarpavaram case primarily concerns a video report by Raavan, posted on his YouTube channel Prashna, in which he interviewed several children who alleged caste discrimination in a government school in Yendapalli, which falls under Pawan Kalyan’s constituency, Pithapuram. Raavan has been charged with engaging children to commit an offence under section 95 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for this video.
Jana Sena party workers had gathered outside the Sarpavaram police station and were seen throwing eggs at the police vehicle in which Raavan was being taken for a medical examination.
Despite securing station bail twice, Raavan was reportedly picked up yet again by the Inaguduru police in Machilipatnam over yet another case over alleged remarks against Pawan Kalyan, caste discrimination within the Hindu religion, and the Tirupati laddu ghee adulteration case.
His lawyer, Jada Sravan Kumar, has alleged that nearly 35 cases have been filed against Raavan across Andhra Pradesh, and that the police were prepared to keep arresting him repeatedly until he is sent to judicial remand.
Similar to the cases against comedians Anudeep Katikala and Rafiq, and senior journalist Prof K Nageshwar, who were booked in the past over remarks on Pawan Kalyan, most of the cases against Raavan too have been filed based on complaints from Jana Sena workers.
Jana Sena workers gathered outside the Inaguduru police station too, and were seen jumping over the compound wall allegedly to try to attack Raavan.
What are the cases against Raavan so far?
Raavan, also known as B Joseph, was first picked up from Hyderabad by the Andhra Pradesh police on the night of June 30, over an FIR registered at the Pithapuram police station on June 29. The complaint, lodged by a Jana Sena party worker named Bojja Kumar Babu, referred to a speech made by Raavan at a public meeting called Dalita Kraistava Samara Sankharavam (Dalit Christians’ War Cry) conducted in Eluru on June 28.
Raavan started his speech by saying the meeting wasn’t just about Dalit Christians but about caste oppression in general. He criticised CM Naidu, alleging he was silent on atrocities against Dalits, and on the alleged statements of Undi MLA and Deputy Speaker Raghu Rama Krishna Raju against Christians.
He went on to criticise Pawan Kalyan, alleging that he had ignored or trivialised incidents of caste discrimination.
“Pardon my language… I will hit you with a slipper if you stoke communal tensions, these are Pawan Kalyan’s words, not mine,” he said, repeating words previously said by the Deputy CM while addressing criminals or opposition leaders. Raavan also made controversial remarks on Pawan Kalyan for not speaking against the atrocities committed against Dalits.
He said that a government that allegedly allows caste discrimination against school kids will be brought down, referring to the incident at the Yendapalli Zilla Parishad High School, where parents and students had alleged that a teacher had made casteist remarks against Dalit students.
Raavan also criticised Radha Manohar Das, a Hindutva proponent who often makes deprecating remarks against Christians. Raavan called him a “beggar” and criticised the Andhra Pradesh government for failing to take action against him for mocking Islam and Christianity.
The complaint alleged that this speech “hurt the sentiments of Jana Sena party workers and supporters, and disturbed public peace.”
Raavan was booked for promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace, defamation, organised crime, as well as computer-related offences.
He was reportedly let go by a magistrate on July 1, but was immediately arrested again by the Sarpavaram police that night.
What is the Sarpavaram case?
The Sarpavaram case dates back to December 12, 2025, the day the Prashna YouTube channel had uploaded an hour-long video speaking with students and parents at the Yendapalli government school. A few days earlier, parents and students had staged protests alleging that an English teacher had made casteist remarks on Dalit students, and that the headmaster had failed to act on complaints against him. The incident was reported in the media.
Two weeks later, Raavan put out a video in which he interviewed the students who elaborated on the kind of caste discrimination they were allegedly subjected to from teachers and classmates. Some of the students alleged in the video that a Mandal Education Officer who visited the school to inquire about the incident pressured them to say that the allegations of casteism were false.
A month later, in January 2026, Pawan Kalyan reacted to the incident and reportedly claimed that some groups had tried to create unrest by making minor incidents appear bigger through social media.
The complaint over the video by another Jana Sena Party worker, Oduri Kishore, alleged that Raavan had “illegally used minor children in Pithapuram to create and publish politically motivated videos targeting” Pawan Kalyan. He alleged that the video showed “clear intention to exploit minors for political propaganda.”
The complaint also mentioned a now-deleted video titled ‘Che Guevara to Cheddi Veera (PART-2)’, seemingly referencing Pawan Kalyan’s shift from the Left to Hindutva politics. It said that Raavan had also targeted Pawan Kalyan’s family members in his videos.
Raavan was charged with engaging a child to commit an offence, promoting enmity between different groups, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and making statements conducing to public mischief under the BNS. He was also charged with publishing obscene material containing sexually explicit acts under Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act.
Raavan’s lawyer Sravan alleged that the public prosecutor argued in front of the magistrate seeking remand, that the video could provoke caste conflict, and that the act was comparable to child trafficking.
After being let go in this case too, Raavan was picked up by the Inagaduru police and shifted to Machilipatnam in yet another case, this time over a fresh case registered on July 2.
The complainant is yet another Jana Sena worker named Udumula Bujji.
Apart from the June 28 speech at the Dalit Christian meeting, the complaint also refers to Raavan’s past remarks in his older videos.
The complaint alleges that Raavan had spread “false information” on the SIT report in the Tirupari laddu ghee adulteration case, thereby “deeply insulting and trifling with the religious beliefs and sentiments of crores of Hindu devotees.”
Soon after coming to power in 2024, Pawan Kalyan and the TDP-led coalition government had alleged that the ghee used to make the Tirupati laddu prasadam was adulterated with animal fats under the previous YSRCP government. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case concluded in January 2026 that the adulterants found were mainly palm oil and other chemicals, and no animal fat was detected.
The Inagaduru FIR also mentions critical remarks allegedly made by Raavan over caste and the varna system in Hinduism. He allegedly said, "In the Hindu religion, instead of viewing a human being simply as a human, caste and varna were imposed upon them. A caste was assigned to a person based on their occupation and birth. If I consider such a religion to be wicked—well, what else would I call it?"
The complaint alleged that these words incited hatred between religions.
In this case, Raavan was again charged with promoting enmity on grounds of religion, statements conducing to public mischief, and deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings.
The FIR also invokes Section 69A of the IT Act, which enables authorities to “issue directions for blocking public access of any information through any computer resource.”
In a video statement by Pawan Kalyan hours after Raavan was arrested, Pawan Kalyan had said that his office would crack down on cases of social media abuse. He listed a series of charges that would be invoked against offenders, including Section 69A that can be used to censor online content.
The complaint alleged that Raavan’s channel Prashna incites religious hatred and instigates conflict between castes.
Raavan was in the custody of the Inagaduru police as of July 3, but his lawyer alleged that if he was granted bail again, police from Eluru were prepared to arrest him once again.
This case was registered on June 30 against both Raavan and Sravan, who is the main accused. It pertains to the same Dalit Christian meeting, which was organised by Sravan. It lists derogatory comments made mainly by Sravan against Pawan Kalyan and the Deputy Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, Raghu Rama Krishna Raju.
The charges include promoting enmity on ground of religion, intentional insult with the intent to provoke breach of peace, statements conducing to public mischief, and criminal intention, along with common intention.