“What are you trying to do, Revanth Reddy? Do journalists look like terrorists to you?” asked BRS leader and former IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar.
Telangana police has reportedly invoked Section 43F of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act while seeking details from social media platform X about a handle named ‘Telugu Scribe’.
In a notice dated April 18 and issued by Counter Intelligence (CI) Cell DIG R Bhaskaran to X Corporation, the police have sought details about the X handle under Section 94 of the BNSS and Section 43F of the UAPA.
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The move triggered outrage and criticism from both Opposition BRS and journalists, who questioned the need to invoke the stringent anti-terrorism act.
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“What are you trying to do, Revanth Reddy? Do journalists look like terrorists to you?” asked BRS leader and former IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar.
The BRS leader further accused the Revanth Reddy-led government of attempting to silence journalists and social media activists by invoking the anti-terror act.
The move also prompted strong reactions from journalists. “Telangana Police @TelanganaDGP, we never expected this from you. How can your police demand that UAPA be invoked against someone just for writing anything?” wrote senior journalist Awesh Tiwari on X.
Anusha Ravi Sood, who identifies herself as a journalist also called out the alleged misuse of the UAPA provisions.
“I have called out Telugu Scribe for sharing a fake audio earlier & reported on an FIR filed over it. Now I am calling out Telangana government for misusing provisions of UAPA against the same platform,” wrote Anusha Ravi Sood.
Several other X users also expressed their frustration over the police notice, asking if this was the “Mohabbat ki Dukan” of the Telangana Congress.
“Mohabbat ki Dukan” from Telangana Congress, stringent UAPA against a Twitter user for his alleged critical remark against the government. Where are those saviours of “Freedom of Expression?” asked the user.
While many criticised the police action, there were some voices that supported the move.
“Telugu Scribe claims to be a news platform, but it is anonymous. It posts abusive, morphed, fake, and hate-inciting content, and there are already FIRs and complaints against it…,” wrote one Mohit Chauhan.
“Now, the Telangana Police have only asked X for basic account details under BNSS, a routine legal step. Section 43F of UAPA is only a procedural clause for seeking information. No arrest, no ban, nothing extreme, just a notice to reveal identity,” he added.
What Telugu Scribe said on the notice?
Sharing the police notice on X, Telugu Scribe said, “We are not terrorists, Revanth Reddy Garu!”
“We at TeluguScribe are shocked and appalled that the Telangana Police are seeking information about our handle under the “Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act”, which is a law primarily brought in to deal with terrorism and activities that threaten the sovereignty and integrity of the nation,” the handle wrote.
It further called the police move “a blatant abuse of power.” “All of the TeluguScribe content is in the public domain and it is completely legal. None of the allegations made by the State Police Department in their notice are true.”
Condemning what the handle called a “sinister attempt to silence TeluguScribe by invoking draconian laws,” the social media news handle vowed to “continue this fight to safeguard TeluguScribe, the people’s voice in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. We will continue to question elected governments on behalf of the people.”
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