Hyderabad journalist questioned for hours with six-month-old baby over social media claims on Revanth Reddy’s family
Independent journalist Jalli Rekha was questioned by Hyderabad police in an FIR over social media posts carrying claims about Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s daughter. She spent several hours at the Central Crime Station with her six-month-old daughter before being allowed to leave.
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Independent journalist Jalli Rekha, who runs the YouTube and Instagram outlet Mr Media Telangana, was questioned by Hyderabad police on October 7 in connection with a social media case involving claims about the family of Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
Rekha, also referred to as Sargu Rekha in the police notice, was not arrested. Police summoned her for questioning after her channel was named in FIR 668/2026, registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station on October 5.
The case was filed on a complaint by Mettu Sai Kumar, chairman of the TPCC Fisherman Congress Committee. BRS social media convener Manne Krishank and others are also named in the FIR.
The case has been registered under Sections 353(2) and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. These provisions relate to statements that can cause public mischief and intentional insult.
The complaint concerns an Instagram reel and related social media posts carrying claims about properties, farm companies and pharmaceutical interests linked to Naimisha Reddy, the Chief Minister’s daughter. Krishank has also made claims of corruption involving around Rs 13,500 crore and the Chief Minister’s family. These remain political allegations and have not been established by a court or investigative agency.
The social media reel has since been removed.
Police notice asked her to appear
Police issued Rekha a notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, directing her to appear for questioning on October 7.
Rekha told The South First that police officers came to her home around 11.30 pm on October 6. She said they knocked for around 15 minutes and were not accompanied by a woman police officer.
According to her account, she told the officers that her six-month-old daughter had developed a fever after vaccination and requested more time. She said police told her that her appearance was compulsory.
The notice itself asked her to appear at 11.30 am on October 7.
Rekha reached the Central Crime Station in Basheerbagh around 3.30 pm, according to reports. She left around 9 pm after spending several hours at the station with her infant.
Some reports put the duration at nearly seven hours, while posts circulated by her associates and BRS leaders claimed she remained there for eight to nine hours. Telangana Today also reported that her three-year-old son was with her at the station.
A video of Rekha leaving the station late in the evening with her infant was widely shared on social media.
Journalist raises questions over conditions
She said there was no proper space for feeding her baby. According to her account, she was initially asked to feed the child inside the investigation room and was later directed to use a hall where police personnel were present.
She said a woman constable asked her to cover herself while feeding the child in a corner.
Rekha also said she needed the assistance of a woman constable to use the washroom.
She further claimed that officers asked her to hand over her phone so they could look for and delete related videos. She said officers also asked for access to her email accounts and questioned her income.
According to Rekha, officers warned her that she could be arrested and sent to remand if she did not cooperate. She also said she was accused of working as a proxy for a political party.
Her lawyer, Laxman, questioned the demand for access to electronic devices and argued that such action could not be taken without proper notice.
Opposition parties attack Telangana government
The incident quickly became a political issue.
BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao criticised the questioning and linked it to the Congress leadership's position on women's rights. He also raised questions about a nursing mother spending several hours at a police station with her infant.
BRS deputy floor leader T. Harish Rao described the episode as an attack on press freedom and women's rights and demanded that the case be withdrawn.
The BJP also criticised the Congress government, saying that a journalist who was nursing her child had been made to spend hours at a police station.
Manne Krishank, whose name also appears in the case, said Rekha was being harassed for carrying and reporting an opposition press conference.
Krishank was arrested on October 6 and received bail the same day. The Telangana High Court had directed police not to take coercive action against him and asked them to follow the Supreme Court's guidelines in the Arnesh Kumar case.