The Andhra Pradesh Police on Monday sent YouTuber Pachalacuri Joseph alias Ravan to Nellore Central Jail, hours after he was remanded by a local court in Gannavaram for 14 days in judicial custody in a case registered against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), people familiar with the matter said.
Police at Gannavaram police station in Krishna district registered a criminal case against Ravan, who runs the ‘Prashna’ YouTube channel, on Saturday and arrested him on Sunday.
“He was produced before an additional civil court in Gannavaram on Sunday evening. After the arguments continued till around 10 pm, the court remanded him to judicial custody till July 18,” a senior police officer said, requesting anonymity.
“The case was registered following a complaint filed by Jarikapati Siva Sankar, Jana Sena leader from Gannavaram and director of Andhra Pradesh State Road Development Corporation,” the officer said.
Sankar alleged that Ravan uploaded a video on November 25, 2025, praising the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), spreading its ideology among the public and expressing support for the armed revolution.
Ravan allegedly expressed his support for Maoist leader Hidma and distributed the video widely across social media platforms. The complaint alleged that such content could influence youth towards extremist ideology, the officer said.
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The police relied on multiple provisions of the BNS, including Sections 147 (waging or attempting to wage war against the Government of India), 148 (conspiracy to wage war), 152 (acts alleged to endanger the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India), 192 (provocation and inflammatory speech intended to incite violence), 197(1)(d) (using electronic or public platforms to disseminate content prejudicial to national safety), and 353(1)(2) (spreading enmity, hatred, and panic among different groups of society by spreading rumors or false information).
In addition, the police invoked Sections 13 and 39 of the UAPA, alleging illegal activities prejudicial to India’s sovereignty and providing support to a proscribed terrorist organisation.
Anusha, Ravan’s wife, said that the police falsely implicated her husband in the case.
She demanded that cases of this kind be filed first against Jana Sena leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, who she alleged made provocative remarks. She also appealed to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and said that if the intention was to eliminate Ravan, the entire family should be “killed immediately”.
