Overview
- NTV reporters Donthu Ramesh and Sudheer were arrested on January 14 and received bail on January 15 after being produced before a magistrate.
- Police said Ramesh was detained at Hyderabad’s airport while allegedly trying to fly to Bangkok and that Sudheer was picked up after he switched off his phone following a summons.
- A Special Investigation Team led by Hyderabad Police Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar searched NTV’s office and reportedly seized computers and hard disks as part of the probe.
- The FIR was filed by Jayesh Ranjan on behalf of the Telangana IAS Officers’ Association, alleging the January 8 telecast was false and defamatory, with charges invoked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act.
- BRS and BJP leaders along with journalist bodies such as NUJ-I and TVJA condemned the late-night detentions and called them an attack on press freedom, as the SIT also examines a separate case over an obscene image of the Chief Minister shared on WhatsApp.