'Derogatory' social media posts on judges: CBI seeks help from US authorities in tracking 2 accused

The CBI, which is the National Central Bureau (NCB) for India under the Interpol mechanism, has approached Interpol Washington, which is the NCB of the United States, with the arrest warrants against the duo

New Delhi:The CBI has sought help from authorities in the US in tracking two accused, C Prabhakar Reddy who is also known as "Punch" Prabhakar and Mani Annapureddy, believed to be staying in that country in connection with a case related to alleged derogatory social media posts against judges and the judiciary, officials said on Thursday.

The agency has got arrest warrants issued against both the accused from courts in India, they added.

The CBI, which is the National Central Bureau (NCB) for India under the Interpol mechanism, has approached Interpol Washington, which is the NCB of the United States, with the arrest warrants against the duo, the officials said.

The CBI had gathered information on the location of the accused using a Blue Corner Notice of the Interpol, they said.

Every country has an NCB, which is the link agency with the Interpol.

The CBI has filed six more chargesheets against as many accused -- Sridhar Reddy Avuthu, Jalagam Venkata Satyanarayana, Guda Sridhar Reddy, Sreenath Suswaram, Kishore Kumar Darisa alias Kishore Reddy Darisa and Sudduluri Ajay Amruth -- in the case.

CBI Spokesperson Joshi said these accused were arrested by the agency from different places in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on October 22 and they are currently in judicial custody.

The CBI had earlier arrested five accused in the case and filed five separate chargesheets against them, he said.

With this, 11 chargesheets have been filed against the 11 accused arrested in the case so far, Joshi said.

"Investigation against one more accused is in progress towards gathering evidence against him. His YouTube channel has also been blocked," he added.

After registering the case, the agency got the objectionable posts removed from social media platforms and public domains on the internet, the spokesperson informed.

Twelve accused and 14 others were examined in the case, he said, adding that evidence from digital platforms has also been collected using the digital forensic technique.

"The CBI moved through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) channel for gathering information related to the Facebook profiles of the accused, Twitter accounts, Facebook posts, tweets, YouTube videos from Facebook, Twitter, Google etc.," Joshi said.

He said during investigation, 13 gadgets, including mobile phones and tablet computers, were seized and the call details of 53 mobile connections obtained.

Joshi said the CBI registered the instant case on November 11, 2020 against 16 accused and took over the investigation of 12 FIRs from the Andhra Pradesh CID on orders of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

PTI