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17 Reported Cases In 5 Years: How Congress Governments Targeted Journalists And Influencers Across India

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The Commune
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On 8 December 2025, Telangana Police arrested BJP state social media convenor Sumiran KV and two associates near the Abids Road police station in Hyderabad. The arrests came after posters appeared across the city criticising Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s two-year tenure, listing allegations of real-estate interference, temple demolitions, rising street crime, and commissions in public projects.

In this report, we look at 17 incidents between 2020 and 2025 in which the Congress party or Congress-ruled state governments have filed FIRs against journalists, reporters, YouTubers, and social media influencers. These cases span Karnataka, Telangana, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal, and typically involve individuals booked for criticising party leadership, questioning governance, or highlighting local administrative failures.

Actions Against Social Media Users and Influencers

#1 Telangana Police Arrest BJP Social Media Team Over Critical Posters – 9 December 2025

Telangana police arrested BJP state social media convenor Sumiran Komarraju and two associates, Ajay and Tatipamula Sai Kiran Goud, on 8 December 2025 near Abid Road police station in Hyderabad. The arrests followed the distribution of posters criticizing Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s two years in office, highlighting issues including real estate influence, temple demolitions, street crime, and alleged project commissions. The controversial poster depicted Revanth Reddy seated on a throne-like chair with multiple robotic arms extending outward, each holding placards carrying various allegations against his administration.

According to police reports, a Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation employee filed the complaint on 6 December 2025, leading to the subsequent arrests of the BJP social media team members.

#2 Telangana Introduces History Sheets for Social Media Posts – 23 September 2025

On 23 September 2025, the Congress government in Telangana directed Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police to open Suspect or History Sheets against social media users accused of “cyber offences” and “financial frauds,” even without convictions.

This unprecedented measure marked the first time in India that social media posts could result in users being placed on criminal history sheets. The official memo cited Standing Order 600-1 of the Telangana Police Manual and Section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, ordering police to treat such users as “habitual or addicted offenders” and place them under constant surveillance.

#3 Karnataka Police Arrest Influencer for Criticizing State Leadership – 4 December 2024

Belagavi Police arrested 38-year-old social media influencer Mohit Narasimhamurthy on charges of using abusive and unparliamentary language against Karnataka’s political leadership. The arrest followed a complaint by the Congress state unit regarding a video uploaded by Narasimhamurthy containing alleged insulting content directed at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and Ministers Satish Jarkiholi and K.H. Muniyappa.

#4 Hyderabad Police File FIR Against Influencer Over Rahul Gandhi Criticism – 7 July 2024

The Cyber-Crime wing of Hyderabad police registered an FIR against social media influencer Raushan Sinha, known online as @MrSinha_, on 2 June 2024, based on a complaint by advocate Eera Venkat Naik. The complaint alleged that the influencer spread fake news related to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary speech delivered on 1 June 2024. According to the complainant, Rahul Gandhi had not made any wrong statements against Hindus, but the BJP social media ecosystem was intentionally provoking Hindu sentiment for political advantage.

#5 Karnataka Police Arrest Goa-Based Influencer Over Wealth Distribution Post – 18 May 2024

Karnataka police arrested influencer Vinit Naik from his residence in Ponda, Goa, following an FIR registered by Bengaluru’s cybercrime police. The case was based on a complaint by Congress party worker J Saravanan, who alleged that Naik, operating the X account ‘Bhiku Mhatre’ under the handle @MumbaichaDon, posted content against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that could create enmity between Hindus and Muslims and disturb societal peace. Specifically, Vinit had posted a video of Siddaramaiah’s speech claiming that Congress wanted to take wealth from Hindus and distribute it among Muslims.

#6 Indian Youth Congress Files Complaint Against Three Prominent Influencers – 26 April 2024

Leaders of the Indian Youth Congress filed a complaint on 26 April 2024 at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Hyderabad against three prominent social media influencers: Rishi Bagree, Arun Pudur, and Ajeet Bharti. The complaint alleged that these influencers had morphed and circulated a video of Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi’s speech delivered in Tukkuguda, Telangana, on 6 April 2024. According to IYC leaders, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial remarks, the allegedly edited video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech was widely shared on social media. The complaint claimed that several fact-checkers had identified the video as edited.

#7 Instagram Account Holders Face Case Over Siddaramaiah Post – 12 January 2024

Bengaluru’s High Grounds police registered a case against two Instagram account holders, ‘troll_kannadiga_1’ and Kritika Kriti, for allegedly posting a morphed picture of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accompanied by abusive comments. The FIR was filed based on a complaint by Sajay Yadav, secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee’s Legal Cell. The charges included promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, and place of birth, as well as making or circulating false statements, rumors, or information with specific intent to cause harm.

#8 West Bengal Congress Files FIR Against Rishi Bagree – 1 December 2020

The West Bengal Congress filed an FIR in Kolkata against social media influencer Rishi Bagree regarding his tweet about the ongoing farmers’ protest dated 29 November 2020. In the FIR, Congress accused Bagree of attempting to incite the public through his allegedly provocative tweet and intentionally insulting Congress President Sonia Gandhi, thereby provoking the public at large with intention to break public peace and cause riots. The complaint also mentioned that Bagree committed the offense of intimidation through his social media account.

Actions Against Professional Journalists 

#9 Karnataka Congress Files FIR Against Arnab Goswami and Amit Malviya – 20 May 2025

On 20 May 2025, the Congress party filed an FIR against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya for allegedly spreading misinformation against Congress. The case, registered at High Grounds police station in Karnataka, was based on a complaint by Shrikant Swaroop B N, head of the Indian Youth Congress’s legal cell.

The two were booked under Sections 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

#10 Congress Files Complaint Against Doordarshan Journalists – 9 May 2025

Karnataka Congress leader CM Dhananjaya filed complaints with Bengaluru’s High Grounds Police Station on 9 May 2025 against Doordarshan journalists Ashok Shrivastava and Prakhar Shrivastava. The complaint condemned a program that allegedly portrayed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as a “traitor” during a period of heightened military conflict with Pakistan. Congress accused the journalists of making “communal, unverified, and derogatory statements” on social media. The targeting of government-employed Doordarshan journalists was particularly notable, as it involved state-run media personnel.

#11 Hyderabad Police Arrest Two Pulse News Journalists – 12 March 2025

Hyderabad police arrested Revathi Pogadadanda, Managing Director of Pulse Digital News Network, and Tanvi Yadav on 17 March 2025 for allegedly broadcasting “offensive” content about Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. The arrests followed a complaint by the Congress state social media unit. The Hyderabad court granted bail to both journalists on 17 March 2025, ruling that Section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita could not be applied to them as there was no element of organized crime or monetary transactions involved in their journalistic work. The swift court intervention and bail grant suggested that the initial arrest may have lacked sufficient legal grounds.

#12 Telangana Journalist Booked for Complaining About Power Failure – 19 June 2024

The Telangana state government booked journalist Revathi for raising a civic issue, specifically complaining about a power failure within Hyderabad city limits. The FIR was filed at Lal Bahadur Nagar police station based on a complaint by M Dileep, a Telangana state government official.

The FIR stated that the complainant asserted the power failure allegation was false and intentionally aimed at defaming the state government and Telangana State Power Distribution Company Limited. The official requested action against Revathi for spreading false propaganda and making the incident viral on social media.

#13 Karnataka Police Book YouTuber Over Rahul Gandhi Commentary – 16 June 2024

Bengaluru’s High Grounds police booked YouTuber Ajeet Bharti for allegedly “spreading enmity between religious groups through false claims.” The FIR was filed based on a complaint by BK Bopanna, a lawyer and secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee’s legal cell. Bopanna’s complaint referenced a video shared by Bharti on X, claiming that Bharti falsely stated Rahul Gandhi intended to bring back the Babri Masjid in place of the Ram Mandir, and that Rahul Gandhi had never made any such statements in his speeches.

#14 Karnataka Police File FIR Against TV Anchor Sudhir Chaudhary – 11 September 2023

Karnataka police registered an FIR against TV anchor Sudhir Chaudhary for allegedly “conspiring to disrupt communal harmony and spreading misinformation” in a show he hosted on the Aaj Tak news channel. The program discussed the state government’s commercial vehicle subsidy scheme for minority communities. Chaudhary was booked at Seshadripuram police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for promoting enmity between groups, based on a complaint filed by a Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation official. The case involved mainstream television journalism covering government policy, with the Congress-led Karnataka government treating critical coverage of its minority welfare schemes as criminal conduct.

#15 Rajasthan Congress Files Complaint Against Zee Hindustan Anchor – 1 July 2022

The Congress filed a complaint against Zee Hindustan anchor Rohit Ranjan at Bani Park police station in Jaipur for allegedly running a doctored video of Rahul Gandhi, despite the channel withdrawing the content and issuing a public apology. The FIR was filed on the complaint of Congress worker Ram Singh Kasanwa and booked Ranjan under IPC sections 504, 505 and others. The disputed news report allegedly presented former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s comments on Students Federation of India brutality in Wayanad, Kerala, as condoning and supporting the killers of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur. The case proceeded despite the channel’s corrective action and apology.

#16 Chhattisgarh Police Arrest Journalists After Congress MLAs Complain – 25 October 2021

Journalist Madhukar Dubey and technical assistant Avinash Palliwar were arrested on 25 October 2021 in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, after Congress MLAs Brihaspat Singh and Kuldeep Juneja complained that the web portal zeroparty.in published “misleading” information about them on 24 October 2021. The portal had published a report about a sting operation in which the MLAs had criticized Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. Two separate FIRs were registered against the media workers under various IPC sections, including extortion, threat to public servant, intentional insult, criminal intimidation, and defamation.

#17 Over 100 FIRs Filed Against Arnab Goswami Across India – 24 April 2020

More than 100 FIRs were filed by Congress party units and workers in various parts of India against Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami following his comments about Congress President Sonia Gandhi after the lynching of Hindu sadhus in Palghar on 16 April 2020. Goswami had asked probing questions about why Sonia Gandhi remained silent on the incident and whether the Italian-born politician would have maintained such silence if Christian priests had been murdered instead. Goswami also alleged that he and his wife were attacked by Congress workers on 24 April 2020 while returning to their Mumbai home from the studio. The nationwide cascade of FIRs represented a coordinated response by Congress units across multiple states.

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