Jalli Rekha questioned at Hyderabad CCS with infant: What happened, and why is press freedom at issue?

Hyderabad journalist Jalli Rekha was questioned at the Central Crime Station (CCS) on October 7, 2026, in connection with a cybercrime case involving claims about Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s family. Leaders of the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Rekha’s associates say she remained there for nearly seven hours with her six-month-old baby and three-year-old son, leaving late at night. The account has raised a press freedom question: why was a journalist kept at a police station for so long while caring for young children? Police have not publicly given a detailed account of her questioning.

Why was Jalli Rekha questioned?

The questioning has been linked to a Hyderabad cybercrime case against BRS spokesperson Manne Krishank. A complaint accused Krishank and the YouTube channel Mr Media Telangana, which Rekha runs, of circulating false claims about the chief minister’s daughter’s alleged ownership of properties and pharmaceutical companies. Reports say Rekha’s name appeared in the case record, but it remains unclear whether police questioned her as a witness or as a suspect.

The case sits within a wider political dispute over allegations Krishank has made about the chief minister’s family. He has claimed that their assets and business interests exceed Rs 50,000 crore and has called for an investigation. That figure is Krishank’s unverified allegation, not an established valuation or finding of wrongdoing. Reports also describe a separate allegation by him involving roughly Rs 13,000 crore in purported financial transactions.

The claim that Rekha was questioned specifically for sharing a reel about Rs 50,000 crore has not been independently established. Available reporting links her questioning to the cybercrime case and its disputed social-media content, but does not establish the precise post, if any, that prompted officers to question her.

What is known about her time at the station?

According to BRS leaders and Rekha’s friends, she spent nearly seven hours at CCS on Wednesday with both children. Her friends also say officers had visited her home around midnight the previous night to direct her to appear. BRS working president K T Rama Rao criticised the police response and alleged that the infant’s needs were not adequately accommodated. Those details about how she and the children were treated come from the party and her associates; police have not publicly addressed them in detail.

Reports indicate Rekha left the station late Wednesday. There is no verified account that she was arrested or charged. Nor is there a public explanation of what officers asked her, why her presence was required for that length of time, or what arrangements were made for the children.

Is this a press freedom issue?

Questioning someone during an investigation is not, by itself, proof of an attack on press freedom. But the circumstances matter. When an investigation concerns political allegations carried by a media channel, authorities should be able to explain the basis for questioning a journalist and the need for its duration. The reported presence of an infant and another young child makes an account of their welfare especially important.

The concern also has context in Telangana. In March 2025, two journalists with the digital outlet Pulse News were arrested over an interview critical of Revanth Reddy. The Committee to Protect Journalists criticised that case and the chief minister’s remarks about journalists. That was a separate incident; it does not establish what happened in Rekha’s questioning.

For now, the clearest answer is that Rekha was questioned in a politically charged cybercrime case, while the nearly seven-hour duration and the conditions she faced with her children have been reported chiefly through BRS leaders and associates. A police account of her status in the case, the questioning and the children’s treatment is needed to assess those concerns fully.