Cyber crime police on Thursday arrested Chirala-based journalist and RTI activist Naidu Nagarjuna Reddy from his home for allegedly outraging the modesty of a woman police officer on duty.
Reddy, who works for the notable Telugu paper Sakshi, was arrested early on Thursday following a complaint filed by the woman officer, who, in her complaint, accused him of making "objectionable" comments against her on social media.
Police sources confirmed to TNM that he has been arrested based on the complaint filed by the woman officer. Chirala Rural CI Bakthavatsala Reddy told TNM that the case is being handled by the cyber crime branch in Mangalagiri.
“He is accused of outraging the modesty of women through social media platforms by making objectionable and derogatory comments, thereby stopping an officer from discharging her duty,” Reddy said.
According to the arrest intimation handed over to Nagarjuna’s wife, the journalist has been held under Section 67 of the IT Act, 2000 (Publishing obscene material in electronic form), Section 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 500 (Punishment for defamation), 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation), 509 (Insulting the modesty of a woman) of IPC .
However, sources from Chirala suggest that Nagarjuna is being falsely framed in the cases for writing against local TDP leaders.
Speaking to TNM, the journalist’s brother, Pratap Reddy, has alleged that Nagarjuna has been wrongly accused and has been targeted by ruling party leaders for exposing their "sand and education mafia.”
He also claimed that the arrest has the backing of leaders belonging to the ruling TDP.
In February 2017 Nagarjuna Reddy was attacked by local MLA Amanchi Krishna Mohan's brother, Amanchi Swamulu, and his followers in broad daylight for writing an article in a vernacular magazine against alleged illegal sand mining done by the MLA.
Nagarjuna Reddy was in the news in May this year after the Andhra government refused to provide a reply to his RTI petition, which sought information on expenditures incurred by CM Chandrababu Naidu and his son, IT Minister Nara Lokesh, in the state-sponsored foreign tours they have undertaken since they came to power.