Hyderabad, January 16, 2026 – In a scathing video statement, NTV Telugu news channel journalist Devi has accused Telangana police of mental harassment and undue intrusion after officers from the Hyderabad Central Crime Station (CCS) questioned her at her office and raided her home late at night. The incident, part of a broader probe into the channel's alleged airing of defamatory content against a woman IAS officer, has ignited debates on press freedom and the treatment of women journalists.
Devi, who was not arrested but subjected to prolonged questioning, described the ordeal as a violation of her dignity and professional rights. In a video circulated widely on social media, she defended her role in the broadcast as routine journalistic work. "I just read the news. I will read whatever news comes. I read the news that came as part of my professional duty," she said. She recounted being interrogated for three hours at the NTV office, where she "gave answers no matter how much mental harassment I was subjected to."
The journalist further questioned the necessity of the midnight raid on her residence. "I answered all the questions they asked yesterday, but what was the need to come to my house again at midnight? They came to my house and troubled me in my house... We did not steal anything," Devi stated. Emphasizing her gender in a pointed critique, she added, "They say that women have been humiliated, and I am also a woman journalist. Why are they harassing me?"
The controversy stems from a program aired by NTV alleging a romantic relationship between a Telangana minister and a senior woman IAS officer, which police described as "objectionable" and aimed at character assassination. A case was registered at CCS on January 10 under sections related to defamation and outraging the modesty of a woman, following a complaint from IAS officer Jayesh Ranjan on behalf of the Telangana IAS Officers' Association. An eight-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the matter, along with a separate case involving social media posts against Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
On the night of January 14 (Tuesday), police escalated actions amid claims that NTV personnel had ignored summons and switched off their phones. Input editor Donthu Ramesh was detained at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Bangkok with his family, and reporter Dasari Sudhir was picked up from his home in Boduppal. Another reporter, Paripurna Chary, was briefly detained but released the same evening. Raids extended to the homes of Devi and NTV CEO Rajasekhar, prompting accusations of overreach.
The arrested journalists—Ramesh and Sudhir—were produced before a magistrate on January 15 after medical examinations and granted bail later that night on personal bonds of Rs 20,000 each, with conditions including passport surrender and restrictions on leaving the city. Ramesh called the arrest "illegal" and vowed to challenge it in court, while Sudhir maintained they bore no responsibility for the content.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar defended the operations, stating they were necessary because suspects "did not appear when requested" and had gone "fugitive." He stressed the probe's focus on protecting women from "fake stories" that breach privacy, saying, "How can women work if fake stories were circulated about them?" Sajjanar added that constructive criticism is welcome, but "spreading false information without any basis and resorting to character assassination, especially about a woman officer, is absolutely wrong." Director General of Police B. Sivadhar Reddy echoed this, warning that social media misuse to "outrage the modesty of women" would be dealt with firmly.
The Telangana Union of Working Journalists (TUWJ) condemned the late-night raids, particularly on women journalists' homes, questioning their legality and timing. "What was the urgency to raid homes at midnight?" the union asked in a statement. Opposition leaders piled on the criticism: BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao likened the actions to "Emergency days," while former Andhra Pradesh CM Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy decried it as an "attack on press freedom." During a combative press conference, Sajjanar shot back at reporters, invoking Emergency-era rhetoric himself when pressed on women's dignity in the Devi raid.
As the SIT continues its investigation, the episode highlights simmering tensions between the media and the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government in Telangana, which assumed power in December 2023. NTV, known for its critical coverage, has faced prior scrutiny, but journalists argue such probes stifle dissent. No further arrests have been reported as of Friday afternoon, though police have vowed to pursue all angles "to a logical conclusion."
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