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Hyderabad: The Telangana IAS and IPS Officers’ Association lodged a complaint with Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar against several private news channels over the telecast of what they described as “defamatory and baseless content” targeting women IAS officers and a state minister.

The Hyderabad Central Crime Station officials have booked cases against NTV, Telugu Scribe, MR Media Telangana, Prime9 Telangana, PVNews, Signal TV, Volga Times, MirrorTyOfficial and Tnews Telugu.

A case under sections 75 (sexual harassment), 78 (stalking), 79 (penalizes any word, gesture, sound, or act intended to insult the modesty or intrude upon the privacy of a woman), 351(1) (criminal intimidation) and 352 (2) (intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace or another offense) of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhitha (BNS).

Two days earlier, the association released a statement condemning the telecast and demanding an immediate public apology. “The content violated privacy, promoted a regressive narrative against women in public service, and amounted to character assassination. We demand its immediate withdrawal,” it read.

They further accused the broadcast of “character assassination under the guise of journalism,” and warned any attempt to malign constitutional offices or demoralise officers would be met with a strong institutional response.

Telangana Cinematography Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, who, the channels claim, is involved in an affair with an IAS officer, refuted the claims, calling it false propaganda against him and urged the media to follow responsible journalism.

“It is not appropriate to spread false news that could damage personal reputation…Imagine yourself in the place of that woman officer…What do you achieve by harassing women officers and creating trouble for ministers’ families?” he stated in a press meet on January 11.