In their remand report objecting to bail, Gannavaram police have claimed that YouTuber ‘Prashna’ Raavan chose the name for himself to deliberately insult the religious sentiments of Hindus. Police also said that they questioned Raavan about his funding sources, his alleged connections to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), and his motive for making videos critical of Sanatana Dharma.
Raavan was arrested by the Gannavaram police under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on July 4 over a video paying tribute to Maoist commander Madvi Hidman who was killed by security forces in November.
He was born in a Kamma (Forward Caste) Christian family and his birth name is Joseph Batchalakuri. As an adult, he started identifying as an atheist and changed his name to Raavan. He is the face of the YouTube channel Prashna where he makes videos mainly on Andhra Pradesh politics, particularly on issues of caste discrimination and communalism.
He has been a staunch critic of Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan since he came to power in 2024.
Raavan has been arrested in four separate cases since June 30 even as he secured bail each time. The cases were filed by Jana Sena Party workers and were mainly related to Raavan’s controversial comments criticising Pawan Kalyan for allegedly overlooking incidents of caste discrimination in his Pithapuram constituency.
After Raavan was released on bail for the fourth time, he was arrested in the UAPA case by Gannavaram police with more serious charges that makes it difficult to get bail.
Based on a complaint by the Gannavaram Jana Sena Party president Garikapati Siva Sankar over the Hidma tribute video, Raavan was booked under section 13 (punishment for unlawful activities) and section 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) of the UAPA.
The case also includes charges of waging war against the Government of India, acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, provocation with intent to cause riot, assertions prejudicial to national integration, and statements conducing to public mischief.
‘Malicious motivation’
In their remand report submitted to the Gannavaram XII Additional Junior First Class Magistrate on July 5, police accused the YouTuber of “malicious motivation”. This, they claimed, was evidenced by his official name change to Raavan whom they described as a figure “widely considered the embodiment of evil in Hindu Dharma”.
Police also claimed that the name was “deliberately chosen to provoke, insult, and outrage the religious sentiments of the Hindu community.”
“This calculated persona, along with the coordinated dissemination of inflammatory content with other yet-to-be-identified individuals, reveals a deep-rooted conspiracy,” the report said.
Questions on funding and ‘Maoist links’
Jana Sena supporters have been claiming that Raavan was funded by the opposition YSRCP to target Pawan Kalyan and Hinduism.
Police said in their report that Raavan was interrogated about his funding and asked if someone else gave him “scripts” for his video content. They also asked him whether he has any connections to the Maoist leaders he paid tribute to in his videos and the motive behind allegedly “targeting” Hinduism and Sanatana Dharma.
Arguing for his interrogation in custody, police said Raavan had been “highly non-cooperative.”
“He is currently in a highly provocative mood, showing no remorse, and his continued intent to incite religious and community feelings among the general public remains evident. He refused to answer critical questions regarding his funding sources, and his connections to the banned CPI (ML) (sic) organization, and the identities of his co-conspirators,” the remand report said, claiming there was a need to unravel “the larger conspiracy”.
Police allege ‘larger conspiracy’
Eight other cases have been registered against Raavan in police stations across the state based on the complaints of Jana Sena workers, police said in the report. Most of the cases pertain to controversial comments Raavan made against Pawan Kalyan at a Dalit Christian public meeting in Eluru on June 28.
Raavan was consecutively arrested in four of these cases and secured bail each time, before being arrested in the UAPA case.
The police argued that the Gannavaram UAPA case was distinct from the others and that the Supreme Court principle laid down in the case of TT Antony vs State Of Kerala does not apply. In 2001, the Supreme Court ruled that when two FIRs are registered for the same offence and charges, the second FIR and a fresh investigation is unmaintainable.
In the Gannavaram case, the complainant said that he came across Raavan’s channel through the June 28 video in which he criticised Pawan Kalayn. Upon browsing further, he saw the video on Maoism from November.
Alleging a “larger conspiracy”, police said that while the other eight FIRs were “ only offences related to social media postings and usage of abusive language,” the FIR in Gannavaram under UAPA should be considered on its own merits.
What Raavan said in his videos
The remand report also lists the content from Raavan’s videos which the complainant and the police found objectionable.
On November 25, a week after Madvi Hidma’s extra-judicial killing, Raavan posted a video titled ‘END OF MAOISM-NAXALISM?’ Naming Maoist leaders killed by security forces in recent months, he said in the video: “As long as a system exists in which humans exploit one another, the struggle will continue. Many Hidmas, Keshava Raos, Ragos, and Midkos—under various names—will keep emerging.”
He added, “With the tears of mothers in villages and Adivasi hamlets as witness—mothers weeping with hearts breaking in anguish—the struggle will be born again and again. The war will go on; heroes will die, only to rise again.” Quoting Che Guevara, Raavan said, “Salute to the People's War. Hasta la victoria siempre (loosely translated to ‘ever onwards to victory).”
Police accused Raavan of portraying Madvi Hidma as a great personality and said that his speeches glorified individuals who have taken up arms against the state.
“Historically, members of CPI Maoist party are from sections of society that are gullible and from weaker sections, distressed members etc. who are easily influenced,” the police said. Noting that the Prashna channel has around 2 lakh subscribers, and the video on Maoism had over 28,000 views, 2900 likes, and multiple supportive comments, the police said this was indicative that Raavan’s words “are influencing innocent youth towards Maoist ideology.”
The report also mentions another video in which Raavan talks about Sanatana Dharma and asks if Hindu men follow the example of the deity Rama to test their wives’ loyalty. It also says Raavan talked about Draupadi being disrobed in the Mahabharata.
The police said these speeches were “derogatory towards Hindu deities, Hindu epics, and Sanatana Dharma.” They said such content was likely to “promote religious enmity, create communal disharmony, and incite the public, thereby disturbing public peace and tranquility.”
