73 Booked for Harassment of Actor Anasuya Bharadwaj; News Channels Named in FIR
New Delhi: The Cyber Crimes wing of the Cyberabad police has booked 73 individuals and entities for the alleged online abuse and harassment of Telugu actor Anasuya Bharadwaj.
The 22-page First Information Report (FIR), registered on January 12, names several individuals, social media handles, and mainstream news channels. The charges include sexual harassment, criminal intimidation, and the violation of privacy.
Among the accused are Mother Rural Education Society director Bojja Sandhya Reddy; commentators Priya Chowdary Gogineni and Vijayalakshmi; social media influencer Pavani; and artist Shekhar Bhasa (alias Raja Sekhar Gudimella).
The police have also booked media professionals, including Rohit, an anchor with Big TV Telugu News; Durga, a journalist; and Manoj Ejjagiri, of RTV News Network. Several media platforms, including 10TV Entertainment, 10TV News Telugu, 5Max TV, and RTV Andhra Pradesh were listed for allegedly amplifying and circulating abusive content.
The controversy
The police action follows a fortnight of turbulence in the Telugu film industry. The issue originated on December 22, during a promotional event for the film Dhandoraa, where senior actor Sivaji made remarks regarding women’s clothing, using terms such as saamanlu (goods) and daridrapu munda (a slur).
When Bharadwaj and singer Chinmayi Sripada objected to the comments, Sivaji had reportedly threatened Bharadwaj, stating: “I hope I get the opportunity to pay back this debt (runam) to her very soon.”
Bharadwaj alleged that the current wave of online attacks is a direct result of this statement, which she described as a "dog whistle" to his followers.
‘Voyeurism and intimidation’
In her complaint, the 40-year-old actor stated that the harassment began following the events of December 22. She alleged that she received sexually abusive messages, and that her images and videos were manipulated and shared without consent, amounting to voyeurism. The complaint lists 76 specific URLs accused of posting obscene material.
The police have invoked sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) covering sexual harassment (Section 75), insulting the modesty of a woman (Section 79), and criminal intimidation (Section 351), alongside Sections 66-E and 67 of the IT Act.
Systemic issues
Sivaji formally apologised before the Telangana State Commission for Women on December 26, but activists argue the apology was cosmetic.
Jhansi Laxmi, a senior actor and leader of the ‘Voice of Women’ (VOW) collective, had earlier pointed out that the industry’s response revealed a deeper "culture of impunity." She noted that despite representations to the Movie Artistes’ Association (MAA), there has been no concrete action plan to address such hostility.
Critics have drawn parallels between Sivaji’s rhetoric and the "Mangapathi" archetype – a controlling male character he played in the film Court – suggesting that the actor was leveraging patriarchal sentiments for publicity. The incident is not isolated; it follows recent security breaches involving actors Nidhhi Agerwal and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, prompting renewed calls for Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) to be strictly enforced within the industry.
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