Women journalists allege attack in CM Revanth's native village; 5 booked

Hyderabad: A case has been registered against five persons in Somajiguda here for allegedly attacking two women journalists – Avula Sarita and Mukka Vijaya Reddy – in Kondareddypalli, Vangoor mandal, while investigating if Telangana farmers had benefitted from the crop loan waiver scheme.

Kondareddypalli in Nagarkurnool district is the native village of chief minister Revanth Reddy.

According to Sarita, on August 22, at around 9 am, she along with Mukka Vijaya Reddy went to Kondareddypalli to speak to the farmers about how the loan waivers have affected them.

However, they said that the villagers argued with them, even threatening them with abusive language. They came back to Hyderabad and lodged a complaint. Sarita stated that they were obstructed from doing their work under the threat of physical violence.

As per their complaint, Yerukali Anil, Chandu Yadav, Mallpakula Shekhar, Chakali Krishna and Vamshi stopped them and threatened to kill them.

“Congress workers physically assaulted us while we were reporting on the implementation of the waiver. Our camera was smashed, phones were snatched and we were pushed into the mud,” Sarita alleged while speaking to the media.

She stated that around a dozen vehicles followed her vehicle when she was on her way to the police station to file a complaint.

Villagers allege attack by journalists

In a counterattack, an FIR has been registered against Mukka Vijaya Reddy, a journalist working for the Mirror YouTube channel, and others for allegedly abusing a woman farmer in Kondareddypalli.

In the complaint filed by Konreddy Yadamma, on August 22 at 9 am, while she was going to the field with her son, Vijaya Reddy came and questioned her whether their loans were cleared by the waiver. Yadamma said that she told Vijaya Reddy that Rs 1,26,000 of the loan was waived.

Konreddy Yadamma complained that the journalist abused the farmers by using her caste name in public and insulted them further.

Yadamma’s son Konreddy Anil Kumar also supported this narrative. “The woman journalist along with four persons cruelly thrashed the complainant’s son. When another villager Kolukulapally Krishniah started taking video of the incident, they grabbed his mobile off him,” the complaint said.

Show quoted te