Five journalists of Shankarpalli booked by Narsingi police for abetment of suicide

HYDERABAD: Narsingi police on Wednesday registered a case against five news reporters for blackmailing Neerati Ravi, who tragically took his own life along with his three sons due to the alleged pressure from these reporters.

Ravi, employed as a supervisor in the agriculture office in Julkal, died by suicide on March 3, 2024, after strangling his sons with a rope in his Tangatur village home before and then hanging himself in a nearby petal shade near a newly constructed function hall.

The case was initiated following a complaint by Neerati Srilata, Ravi's wife, prompting an investigation. It was discovered that Ravi, introduced to the GSN Foundation's money circulation scheme by Tirupathi Rao, had invested a significant sum of money from December 2022 onwards, along with his fellow villagers. However, Ravi faced mounting pressure when payments from the scheme ceased.

Journalists including ABN TV reporter Srinu, Eenadu reporter Srinivas, Namaste Telangana reporter Mahesh, Sakshi reporter Praveen, and Vartha reporter Srinivas Reddy allegedly extorted money from Ravi by threatening to expose his involvement in the scheme and his construction of a function hall.

Despite paying a sum of Rs. 2,50,000 to the reporters, Ravi continued to face pressure, ultimately leading to his tragic decision.

The police charged nine individuals, including Thirupathi Rao, Mangali Srinivas (ABN Reporter), Kurma Srinivas (Eenadu Reporter), Vadde Mahesh (Namastey Telangana Reporter), Siripuram Srinivas Reddy (Vartha Reporter), Sanike Praveen Kumar, Aluri Raju Nagaraj, Maneela, and Ramakrishna involved in the extortion scheme.

The police warned people against such acts of extortion, emphasising the need for public awareness and urged individuals not to fall prey to fraudulent schemes promising hefty returns. The police also wanted people to report any such schemes to the authorities promptly.