In an atrocious incident, two women journalists, Saritha Aavula and Vijaya Reddy, were manhandled by goons allegedly associated with CM Revanth Reddy in his village, Kondareddypalli. One of the attackers has been identified as Anil Komreddy, a close aide of Revanth Reddy’s brother Anumula Kondal Reddy. These journalists were in the village to gather information on the partial implementation of the farm loan waiver and to investigate the suspicious death of one of Revanth Reddy’s relatives.
Saritha Aavula and Vijaya Reddy have been fearlessly exposing the misgovernance of Revanth Reddy through a series of reports over the past few months. Today’s attack appears to be a premeditated attempt to silence these courageous voices. This incident raises serious concerns about the safety of journalists in Telangana, particularly under the current regime, where attacks on journalists have increased.
Responding to this incident, BRS Working President said, “It is outrageous that followers of CM Revanth Reddy have attacked women journalists, Saritha Aavula and Vijaya Reddy, for exposing the truth about the crop loan waiver.” The former minister questioned whether there is any safety for women journalists in the so-called ‘Indiramma Palana’. “If the loan waiver was genuinely implemented, what is the CM afraid of?” asked KTR.
He added that attacking journalists while they are on duty is a grave offense. KTR demanded that immediate cases be registered against the ‘Congress thugs’ involved, and that they be promptly arrested. He also appealed to the Women’s Commission to take action on this issue.