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Hyderabad Cyber Crime Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) V Aravind Babu has been relieved of his responsibilities and directed to report to the state police headquarters on Friday, July 31. The development comes days after the Cyber Crime wing registered two cases involving Meta India’s head and several Facebook and Instagram accounts over allegedly objectionable and digitally altered content targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to senior police sources, the action came after the cases reportedly drew criticism within the state government and among top police officials. The FIRs were filed following complaints from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters at a time when the Congress leadership had publicly expressed support for student protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over the alleged NEET paper leak.
After reviewing the circumstances under which the cases were registered, the state government, through the police leadership, decided to relieve Aravind Babu of his charge at the Hyderabad Police Commissionerate.
The two FIRs originated from separate complaints submitted on July 29 by BJP supporters.
In the first complaint, T Saikiran Goud, a member of the Telangana BJP's social media core committee, alleged that around 20 Facebook and Instagram accounts had posted content that he claimed was derogatory towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also sought action against Meta for hosting the material, requesting police to identify those operating the accounts and initiate legal proceedings.
The second complaint was filed by S Aravind Reddy, a BJP supporter from Nampally, who alleged that several Instagram accounts had circulated morphed and obscene images and videos depicting Prime Minister Modi, the US President, and former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He claimed the manipulated content was misleading and capable of influencing public opinion.
Based on the complaints, the Cyber Crime police registered two cases under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the account holders as well as the head of Meta India.
The FIRs attracted attention because the social media posts were linked to content circulating during the CJP-led protests over the alleged NEET paper leak.