Telangana: YouTuber sent to judicial custody for obscene comments on children

Hyderabad, July 11 (IANS) A city court on Thursday sent YouTuber Praneeth Hanumantu to judicial custody for 14 days for vulgar and obscene comments on the father-daughter relationship.

Telangana State Cyber Security Bureau, which had arrested him in Bangalore on Wednesday, brought him to Hyderabad on a transit warrant and produced him before a magistrate at Nampally Criminal Court Complex.

After the magistrate remanded Praneeth to judicial custody, he was shifted to Chanchalguda Jail.

Praneeth (29), a native of Andhra Pradesh and resident of Hyderabad, is the main accused in the FIR registered by Telangana Cyber Security Bureau on July 7 after public outrage over inappropriate comments.

According to the Cyber Security Bureau, this case involves a group of individuals engaged in vulgar and obscene conversations about a father-daughter relationship on a YouTube podcast.

The FIR was registered under sections 67B (publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in sexually explicit act, etc., in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act, 294 (sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place) of the Indian Penal Code, 79 of BNS (word gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman) and 13 (c) (indecent or obscene representation of a child) of the POCSO Act.  

Praneeth was absconding since the day the matter came to light and he was finally arrested on Wednesday.

Shikha Goel, Director of Telangana Cyber Security Bureau, said the efforts were on to apprehend the remaining accused.

The FIR was registered after Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka promised action when actor Sai Dharam Tej reported child abuse online.

Sai Dharam Tej had expressed outrage on social media and urged the chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of both the Telugu states to demand necessary action to curb horrific acts like this in future.

Some other actors and people from various walks of life had also demanded action against those involved.

--IANS

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