The Cyber Crimes wing of the Cyberabad Police booked 73 people, including social media influencers and journalists, after popular anchor-turned-actress Anasuya Bharadwaj filed a complaint of online harassment four days ago.
In her complaint, Anasuya said the online harassment began on December 22, when Telugu actor Sivaji said that women should opt for sarees or fully covered outfits, and that “beauty lies in complete attire and not in displaying physical assets.”
The remarks drew widespread condemnation.
On December 23, media personnel sought Bharadwaj’s reaction, for which the actress favoured individual freedom and personal choice. The following day, Sivaji took her name to discuss her views.
After this, she said, many channels and content creators reportedly started targeting her. She alleged that some of them sent her sexually abusive and obscene messages.
Police registered a case under Sections 75 (sexual harassment), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 336(4) (forgery for purpose of harming reputation), 351 (criminal intimidation) and 356 (defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 66-E and 67 of the Information Technology Act.
The 22-page First Information Report (FIR) names the accused as Mother Rural Education Society’s director Bojja Sandhya Reddy; public commentators Priya Chowdary Gogineni and Vijayalakshmi; social media influencer Pavani; artist and commentator Shekhar Bhasa alias Raja Sekhar Gudimella and advocate Rajni.
It also lists media professionals such as Rohit, a television anchor with Big TV Telugu News; Durga, a journalist, and Manoj Ejjagiri, a TV anchor with the RTV News Network along with multiple television and online media platforms, including 10TV Entertainment, 10TV News Telugu, 5Max TV, Always Cinema Live, APTalks 24x7, Balagam TV, RTV Andhra Pradesh and RTV News Network, for amplifying and circulating the ‘abusive content’.