Hyderabad: Police broke open the doors of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) social media convener Manne Krishank’s residence and arrested him on Friday, September 18, after a case was reportedly registered against him over a social media post.
A large police contingent had gathered outside Krishank’s house since early morning, with officers positioning themselves there from around 5 am. As word of the police action spread, the BRS Legal Cell and senior party leaders rushed to the residence and attempted to stop the police from breaking in, but officers forced the door open and took Krishank into custody. Videos of police attempting to force their way into the house have surfaced on social media.
In a video statement released after the incident, Krishank alleged that nearly 50 police personnel arrived at his home around 5 am, broke through the outer security grills, and forced open his main door, claiming to serve him a notice under Section 35 of the BNS. “I am a public political figure, not a fugitive or a criminal. Why does serving a notice need 50 policemen and broken doors at five in the morning?” he said, questioning the scale and timing of the operation.
Krishank said the raid caused severe distress to his family, and that his seven-year-old daughter, terrified by the commotion and door-banging, was unable to appear for a scheduled exam as a result.
His reported arrest is linked to a case over a social media post he had made about CCTV footage from the Saifabad police station, which he said showed masked men entering the premises, a reference he made to BRS’s separate allegation, still disputed by police, that masked personnel tried to assault two aides of BRS working president KT Rama Rao inside the station on September 14.
Krishank said the matter is before the Telangana High Court, which has directed that the CCTV footage be preserved, and alleged that his arrest is retaliation for the party raising issues such as land allocation to the Chief Minister’s relatives, farmer concerns, and student issues.
Krishank, who said he has been jailed twice before in what he called false cases, said neither he nor the BRS would be intimidated, and vowed to continue questioning the state government.
Police are yet to state the arrest or the specific case registered against Krishank.
The BRS has slammed the arrest, alleging that this was another instance of the Congress government using the police to muzzle opposition voices, pointing out that Krishank, a former corporation chairman, has now faced a string of cases over his social media activity.
The action also comes even as the Telangana High Court and the Supreme Court both restrained police from mechanically registering cases or making arrests over political criticism on social media, earlier this year.
The Telangana High Court had earlier ruled that police cannot book a case merely because a political post is harsh, unpopular, or critical of the government, unless there is prima facie material showing incitement to violence or public disorder, a position the Supreme Court has since upheld.
This post was last modified on September 18, 2026 3:01 pm