Journalist questioned for hours at Hyderabad cybercrime station with infant; Police silent on allegations
Her name is Jalli Rekha, an independent journalist who runs a YouTube channel. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭.
Her only “crime” was covering allegations of massive corruption involving the family of Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 “𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐲.” 𝐘𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲, 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭.
Slogans are easy. Treating a woman with dignity is harder for Congress.
The case behind the questioning is one of several against Krishank in recent weeks. Police entered his house on 18 September to take him into custody over a social media post about an alleged attack on KTR’s aides at Saifabad police station. A court later rejected his remand and asked him to cooperate with the investigation, and he was told to appear before CCS police on 28 September. The present FIR, No. 668/2026, was registered on Monday, 5 October, after a complaint by Congress leader Mettu Sai Kumar over Krishank’s remarks and published material alleging corruption of about Rs 13,500 crore involving the Chief Minister’s family. Krishank had alleged that Medicover Hospital was sold for around Rs 13,200 crore and accused the family of using the deal to convert black money into white. These are allegations by BRS leaders. An officer said police acted because the claims were not backed by supporting material. No court has examined either side’s position on the substance.
On procedure, Krishank’s lawyers have challenged the police. On Tuesday, 6 October, his counsel told the Telangana High Court that the FIR was registered without a preliminary inquiry. The court directed the DCP (Crimes) to issue him a notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita before taking further action, and told him to cooperate. The government pleader opposed protection from arrest, saying the investigation was at an early stage. Reports differ slightly on the order of events that Tuesday, when Gopalapuram police were also reported to have arrested Krishank over a banner.
On Wednesday, 7 October, BRS leaders and journalist organisations asked senior police officials to explain the handling of Rekha’s questioning and to ensure that the rights and welfare of women and children are respected during police proceedings.
A post circulating widely on social media on 7 and 8 October makes further claims that no published report supports. It says Rekha was questioned for nine hours, that her reel alleged Rs 50,000 crore in corruption, that Instagram removed the reel, that police wanted to take her into custody, and that she must appear again the next day. The nine-hour figure is higher than the nearly seven hours reported. The Rs 50,000 crore figure does not appear in any report found, and the reports instead cite about Rs 13,200 to 13,500 crore. No report mentions a reel by Rekha or an Instagram takedown, and none mentions a police attempt to take her into custody or a fresh notice.
The case is separate from the arrests on 12 March 2025 of Pulse TV’s Revathi Pogadadanda and Thanvi Yadav. Those arrests followed a viral interview video in which a farmer made abusive remarks about the Chief Minister. The two cases should not be confused.
The police, Rekha herself and her lawyers have not given their own accounts as of Thursday, 8 October. It is also unclear whether she is a witness or an accused. This report will need updating when any of them speaks.
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