• Source:JND
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Telangana News: Praneeth Hanumanthu, a well-known YouTuber and actor, has been arrested by the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) in Bengaluru. The arrest comes three days after he was booked for engaging in an obscene conversation about a relationship between a man and his daughter in a YouTube video.

Hanumanthu, who is also known as 'Phanumantu' on YouTube, was arrested under a PT warrant and is now set to be transferred to Hyderabad for further legal proceedings. The TGCSB officials produced him before a local magistrate in Bengaluru before he could be brought to Hyderabad.

The controversy erupted after Praneeth and his group allegedly made offensive remarks about a reel shared by a Telugu family residing in the United States, particularly mocking the father-daughter relationship with vulgar comments. The comments quickly drew widespread condemnation from the public and celebrities alike.

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Actor Sai Dharam Tej, a Telugu film actor and son of known actor Chiranjeevi's sister, took to Twitter to express his outrage. He described the incident as "beyond gruesome, disgusting and scary" and urged Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan to take serious action against the YouTuber.

In response to the outrage, Praneeth deleted the controversial video and issued a public apology according to Times Of India report. Meanwhile, the TGCSB filed an FIR against Praneeth and registered a case against all the four accused under relevant sections of the IT Act, BNS and POCSO Act., prompting strong reactions from political figures including CM Revanth Reddy and other government ministers, who pledged strict action against the YouTuber for his behaviour.

Hanumanthu, a native of Andhra Pradesh and reportedly the son of a senior IAS officer, was moderating a podcast featuring three other persons. In the guise of comedy, the accused made insensitive remarks against a girl child.

"He (Praneeth) has been absconding since the day the matter came to light," said TGCSB Director Shika Goel. "Efforts are on to apprehend the remaining accused."

The YouTuber's video caused a lot of online outrage, wherein CM A Revanth Reddy and the then DGP Ravi Gupta posted on Twitter reassuring the public that child safety is of utmost importance to the police and the government.

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"We are committed to protecting all citizens, especially children. Offenders misusing social media for humour will face justice, and our team is diligently identifying them," Gupta had earlier posted on Twitter.

Praneeth Hanumanthu, a graduate of Symbiosis Law College, Pune, has 172K subscribers on YouTube and 56.1K followers on Instagram. Despite his popularity, his recent controversy has tarnished his reputation, with this incident marking not the first time he has faced criticism for insensitive comments.

Praneeth is expected to appear in court soon to address the charges against him. The authorities are also working to apprehend the remaining accused individuals involved in the incident.