In a high-voltage political drama unfolding in Hyderabad, BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) leader Gellu Srinivas Yadav was arrested late Saturday night in connection with a violent attack on MAHAA TV’s office in Jubilee Hills. The arrest came after a group of BRS supporters stormed the premises around 9:30 pm, vandalizing property, damaging vehicles, and assaulting a staff member. The attackers, shouting slogans like “Jai Telangana”, accused the news channel of spreading “fake news” against party leaders KCR and KTR concerning the ongoing phone tapping scandal. Tensions flared as five other BRS workers were detained earlier in the day, prompting police to step up security in the area.
The BRS has lashed out at the Congress-led state government, calling Srinivas’s arrest unconstitutional and arbitrary. The party alleged that no official reason or legal documentation was provided, and the arrest was not reflected on the police portal—violating Supreme Court guidelines and the recently enacted BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita). BRS spokesperson RS Praveen Rao challenged the Congress to come clean about its own involvement in illegal phone surveillance and demanded a public explanation from law enforcement. In defense of Srinivas, his lawyer J Laxman accused the authorities of bypassing due legal process and failing to follow arrest protocols.
Amid the political back-and-forth, BRS’s legal cell has also issued a defamation notice to MAHAA TV, alleging that the channel was engaging in targeted attacks on its leadership under the guise of journalism. The party claims that MAHAA TV’s YouTube thumbnails on the phone tapping controversy amount to character assassination. Meanwhile, the case continues to unfold, with senior police officials from the previous BRS regime already under investigation for allegedly tapping over 600 phone numbers, including those of judges, journalists, and opposition leaders. Founded by veteran journalist I Venkat Rao, MAHAA TV has yet to issue a detailed response. Political observers view the incident as a growing flashpoint in the battle between the state’s old guard and the new regime.
