The Cyberabad Police have registered a case against YouTuber Anvesh for allegedly making false claims against Telangana Director General of Police and other senior officials in connection with a betting apps scam.
Anvesh alleged that DGPJitender and several bureaucrats in Telangana were involved in a Rs 300 crore betting scam.
Anvesh, on his channel ‘Prapancha Yatrikudu’, claimed that several IAS officials accepted bribes amounting to Rs 300 crore from some persons for allowing operation of betting apps.
He also claimed that the officials allowed promotion of the betting apps through advertisements on the Hyderabad Metro Rail.
Anvesh, in his video, accused the officials of misappropriating funds through a betting app. The YouTuber, known for his funny travel vlogs, made the allegations against DGP Jitender, Hyderabad Metro Rail Managing Director NVS Reddy, IAS officers Santhi Kumari, Dana Kishore, Vikas Raj and others.
The Cybercrime police of Cyberabad registered the First Information Report (FIR) against Anvesh on a complaint by A Naveen Kumar, a constable working in the social media cell of Cyberabad Police Commissionerate. The police termed his allegations baseless and initiated action against him for disseminating unverified information.
The YouTuber has been making videos about betting apps in the Telugu states. Earlier, he alleged that transactions worth Rs 1,000 crore occurred through betting apps. He also named several Tollywood actors and social media influencers, accusing them of promoting these apps and profiting from them.
Last week, the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) removed advertisements related to betting apps from all metro premises after the Telangana High Court issued it a notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
The petitioner had accused the Metro of promoting illegal offshore betting apps.
It may be recalled that Hyderabad and Cyberabad Police had earlier registered cases against several social media influencers and celebrities for allegedly promoting betting apps.
In March, the Cyberabad Police booked leading actors Rana Daggubati, Vijay Deverakonda and Prakash Raj for allegedly promoting betting apps. However, while Rana Daggubati and Vijay Deverakonda stated that they endorsed only legally permitted online skill-based games, Prakash Raj said he did not renew a contract to promote an app in 2017 after realising that he should not have promoted it.
The police had also booked actors Manchu Lakshmi, Nidhhi Agerwal and 19 social media influencers under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Telangana Gaming Act and the Information Technology Act.
