A day after vernacular TV channel had aired footage of Dinesh Reddy meeting a godman, Habib Mustafa Idrus, at Fateh Darwaza in the old city, the city police registered criminal cases against the TV channel.
Two ACP-rank of officers visited the channel’s office to collect evidence.
There was tension when a section of people squatted at the TV channel’s office and staged dharna alleging that the TV channel aired footage of Idrus, which they alleged was morphed and fabricated. The mob dispersed after the channel management tendered an apology.
Minutes after the police entered the TV channel’s office, journalists gathered there and shouted slogans against Dinesh Reddy for allegedly harassing media houses and foisting false cases on them.
Assistant inspector-general (Admn) M Subba Rao lodged a complaint with the Central Crime Station that the Habib Mustafa Idrus footage was fabricated as the footage of Dinesh Reddy prostrating before Ramaduta Swamy of Chevur village near Ongole.
Another complaint was lodged by godman’s son Ahmed who said that two vernacualr TV channels’ description of the godman as a land-grabber and practitioner of black vitiated communal harmony.
Based on the complaints, the CCS police registered a cae under the IT Act and the Hussani Alam police cases under Section 295 (A) (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion) and Sec 505 (Statements conducing public mischief) of IPC.