HYDERABAD: Amberpet police arrested journalist Shankar, the owner of the Newsline Telugu YouTube channel, on Saturday, following allegations of sexual exploitation.
The victim, a 30-year-old woman lodged a complaint, accusing Shankar of exploiting her under the false pretense of marriage.
According to the complainant, she met Shankar in 2022 while working as a lecturer. She had divorced her first husband in 2018, with whom she had two sons.
Shankar, aware of her vulnerable situation, promised to marry her. Their first encounter involved Shankar forcibly exploiting her sexually in a car on the Shamshabad highway. Subsequently, they had met physically on several occasions.
In 2025, she pressed him for marriage and social recognition but he began avoiding her and instead began threatening her. He claimed to have political connections and warned that he would circulate her photos on social media. He also created a Twitter account and posted indecent comments and threatened her that he would morph her photos.
The police have registered a case against Shankar under sections 69, 79, 352, and 351(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).