Cyberabad police book 73, including news channels, for online abuse and harassment of actor Anasuya Bharadwaj

Seventy three accused, including individuals and social media handles, have been booked by the Cyber Crimes wing of the Cyberabad police on Monday (January 12, 2026) for carrying out sustained online abuse, sexual harassment, criminal intimidation and defamation of Telugu film actress Anasuya Bharadwaj.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) accessed by The Hindu, among the accused were 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; advocate Rajni and artist Paadala Kalyani, also known as Karate Kalyani. 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. In addition to individuals, the complaint names multiple television and online media platforms and social media pages, including Big TV Telugu, 10TV Entertainment, 10TV News Telugu, 5Max TV, Always Cinema Live, APTalks 24x7, Balagam TV, RTV Andhra Pradesh, RTV News Network, PMR TV Telangana and several other digital media channels accused of amplifying and circulating the ‘abusive content’.

Anasuya Bharadwaj, a 40-year-old actress residing in Manikonda, approached the Police seeking immediate intervention against multiple offences committed against her continuously and publicly from December 23, 2025 onwards.

In her detailed complaint letter dated January 12, the actress stated that the sequence of events began on December 22, 2025, when a Telugu actor made derogatory remarks at a public event about women’s clothing worn by movie actresses and used obscene words while referring to women’s bodies. She said these comments sparked widespread public outrage and debate.

She further stated that on December 23, during the inauguration of a clothing mall, media personnel approached her for her reaction to the controversy. Ms. Anasuya Bharadwaj told the police that she had expressed her opinion respectfully and calmly, supporting individual freedom and personal choice, and that she did so as a fellow celebrity with public recognition in the Telugu states.

According to the complaint, the situation escalated the following day when the actor held a press meet on December 24 and referred to her by name while discussing her views. She alleged that after this, several television channels, online media pages and digital content creators began amplifying the issue in a manner that deliberately targeted her, provoking opposition and hostility towards her stance.

The actress stated that soon thereafter, social media users began sending her sexually abusive, obscene and threatening messages and posting derogatory comments on her social media accounts. Ms. Anasuya Bharadwaj said she initially hoped the abuse would stop on its own, but instead it continued unabated and intensified over the next several days as television debates, online videos, live streams and reels became increasingly aggressive and abusive.

M. Anasuya Bharadwaj said online abuse escalated into direct threats to attack her and members of her family, causing her serious fear for their safety. The complainant further stated that the abuse extended to the manipulation of her images and videos through AI-generated deepfakes and morphed content, which were circulated online with sexually suggestive edits and derogatory commentary. She alleged that the content, shared without her consent, amounted to voyeurism and the publication of obscene material, and was used as a tool to intimidate, humiliate and threaten her and her family.

She claimed that these actions had damaged her public standing and artistic credibility and caused her severe mental distress.

The complaint includes dozens of specific URLs, video links, reels and live-streamed programmes aired on YouTube, Instagram and X, as well as numerous social media handles accused of posting profanities, obscene remarks and sexually harassing content. Several online media pages and channels have also been named for allegedly amplifying and circulating abusive material.

The complainant told police that the acts amounted to large-scale public provocation, sexual harassment, criminal intimidation and defamation, carried out both individually and collectively, and sought strict action against all offenders in accordance with the law.

Following the complaint, the case was booked under the Sections 75 and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to sexual harassment and word, gesture or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman; Section 336(4) dealing with forgery, Sections 351 and 356 pertaining to criminal intimidation and defamation, along with Sections 66-E and 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which deal with violation of privacy and the publishing or transmission of obscene material in electronic form.

The police said they will examine the digital evidence cited in the complaint, identify and trace the operators of the social media accounts and media pages involved, and take further action as per legal procedure.