13-08-2025
Ongole police grill RGV for 10 hrs
Ongole: Film director Ram Gopal Varma appeared before the Ongole rural police on Tuesday in connection with a case involving derogatory social media posts against Telugu Desam Party president Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Janasena president K Pawan Kalyan, and their family members, which included the use of their morphed photos.
In November 2024, Maddipadu mandal TDP general secretary Muttanapalli Ramalingam complained to the local police that Ram Gopal Varma made derogatory remarks against Chandrababu Naidu, his daughter-in-law Brahmani, and Pawan Kalyan, and used their morphed pictures for one of his recent films, Vyuham. He mentioned that the filmmaker's comments and the images posted on the social media platform X have damaged the personal and social reputations of the individuals.
The investigation officer of the case, Ongole Rural CI N Srikanth Babu, issued notices to Ram Gopal Varma to appear before him for clarifications and explanations as part of the investigation. However, he evaded the police requests multiple times and filed a quash petition in the High Court against pending cases, along with an anticipatory bail petition, seeking relief from the case. The court granted him bail and instructed him to cooperate with the police.
Following the issued notices, RGV presented himself before the investigation officer, Srikanth Babu, for the first time on February 7. Then the police allowed his lawyer to accompany him, and didn't seize themobile phone. However, on Tuesday, the police didn't allow Varma's lawyer into the interrogation room, and seized his mobile phone, citing it was required for the investigation. The interrogation continued for about 10 hours. Varma was asked questions about whether he had hatred against Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan, and their families, the reasons for his posts, and who motivated him.
