YSRCP's Pudi Srihari detained over social media posts; stand-up comedian Anudeep Katikala held for remarks on Pawan Kalyan

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh police on Wednesday detained Pudi Srihari, a close aide of former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and senior leader of the YSRCP, over alleged provocative social media posts targeting Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The posts reportedly contained violent and inflammatory language and visuals, prompting cases to be registered at a police station in Chittoor district.

The detention triggered swift condemnation from YSRCP leaders across the state, who called it an illegal arrest and a blatant assault on democratic rights.

Senior leader Kurasaala Kannababu questioned whether Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh were upholding the Constitution or governing through extra-legal means.

He alleged that Srihari was picked up in the manner of an abduction, with police arriving in plain clothes in violation of Supreme Court guidelines, no prior information given to the family, and Srihari's name conspicuously absent from the FIR, he said.

Kannababu demanded clarification from the Director General of Police and asked whether the force was functioning as an independent constitutional body or as an arm of the TDP.

Former Minister Perni Nani described the detention as unlawful, arguing that Srihari a journalist-turned-politician had been treated as a criminal without justification. He questioned what offence warranted such extreme action and asserted that any legitimate arrest ought to have been carried out transparently.

Nani accused the government of deploying police machinery to intimidate political opponents over social media activity, noting pointedly that no such action had been taken when allegedly defamatory content was traced to locations linked to the TDP.

He charged that Naidu had orchestrated a systematic campaign of harassment, false cases, and intimidation over the past 20 months to silence criticism of his administration.

YSRCP leaders further alleged that while a coordinated campaign to malign Jagan Mohan Reddy was being run on social media, the government was simultaneously filing false cases and intimidating his supporters.

Stand-Up comedian held over remarks on Pawan Kalyan

In a separate incident, Telugu stand-up comedian Anudeep Katikala was detained in Prayagraj on the evening of April 14 over an online video alleged to have insulted Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and his family.

He was subsequently brought to Kakinada, where an FIR had already been registered at the I Town police station on April 11, following a written complaint by Jana Sena leader Bade Venkata Krishna, 51. He faces charges under Sections 356(2), 353(2), and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, as well as Section 67 of the IT Act.

The complaint alleges that Anudeep targeted Pawan Kalyan and his family members with sarcasm and vulgar language, damaging their reputation and spreading misinformation likely to incite enmity.

The videos in question, from a show performed a month earlier, resurfaced online only days ago. In them, he referred to actor Ram Charan son of actor Chiranjeevi as a "feminist" for being unbothered by his wife Upasana's financial standing, and made remarks about Pawan Kalyan's personal life in the context of normalising attitudes around divorce.

Following a backlash from fans of both celebrities, Anudeep issued an apology, clarifying that his intent had been to normalise feminism rather than cause offence.

An IIT graduate who transitioned into comedy, Anudeep is a prominent figure in Hyderabad's Telugu stand-up scene and the founder of Silly South Comedy, widely described as India's first Telugu stand-up comedy collective.