Ram Gopal Varma skips Andhra CID questioning, ‘busy with film promotion’

The filmmaker seeks eight weeks’ time to appear before the investigating officials in a case related to a 2019 Telugu movie

Amaravati: Controversial filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma on Monday skipped his appearance before Andhra Pradesh’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) for questioning in a case relating to a Telugu movie released in 2019.

Varma sent his lawyer to the CID office in Guntur and sought eight weeks’ time to appear before the CID officials. RGV, as the noted director is popularly known, conveyed to the CID officials that he cannot appear before them as he was busy with film promotion.

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The CID is likely to issue a fresh notice to the filmmaker on Tuesday. The CID had earlier issued a notice to RGV, directing him to appear before it on February 10. He was summoned for questioning in connection with a complaint lodged by a leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the past.

The case is related to the 2019 movie ‘Kamma Rajyamlo Kadapa Reddlu’ (Kadapa Reddys under Kamma rule), directed by RGV. The controversial movie featured actors playing roles of then Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Chandrababu Naidu, Lokesh and Pawan Kalyan.

Bandaru Vamsikrishna, the state spokesperson of Telugu Yuvatha, the youth wing of TDP, had filed a complaint with the CID on November 29, 2023, alleging that the movie hurt public sentiments. Based on this complaint, the CID registered a case against Varma. RGV, a supporter of the former chief minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president YS Jaganmohan Reddy has been facing an investigation into a few cases registered against him since the TDP-led coalition government came to power in June last year.

On February 7, he appeared at Ongole Rural Police Station in Prakasam district for questioning regarding social media posts allegedly defaming Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, his son and minister Nara Lokesh and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan. RGV was questioned for nearly nine hours by Srikanth Babu, Circle Inspector of Ongole Rural police station and his team. The police officer informed the filmmaker that he may be summoned again for further questioning in the case. The film director claimed that he attended a police station for the first time in his life.

“I love Ongole and I love Ongole police even more,” posted RGV on a social media platform along with a selfie with a glass of water in his hand. Based on a complaint from Rama Lingam, mandal-level secretary of TDP, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against RGV on November 11, 2024, at Ongole Police Station.

The case was filed under sections 336 (4) (electronic record forged to harm the reputation), 353 (2) (spread of false information), 356 (2) (defamation), 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy), 196 (promoting enmity), 352 (intentional insult) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 67 (publishing obscene material in electronic form) of Information Technology Act.