Questioning begins in online abuse of actress Anasuya; technical hurdles slow probe

Cyberabad Police question suspects in Anasuya Bharadwaj's online abuse case, facing delays from digital hurdles

The Cyberabad Police has begun questioning two of the suspects in the case involving alleged online abuse, sexual harassment, criminal intimidation and defamation of Telugu actress Anasuya Bharadwaj. Investigators said that the probe has been slowed by digital trail and delayed responses from social media platforms based overseas.

The Cyber Crimes Wing of the Cyberabad police had, on January 12, 2026, booked 73 persons as accused, including individuals and social media handles, in connection with the case. Summons were issued to two of them, including accused number 1, Bojja Sandhya Reddy, director of Mother Rural Education Society, and Shekhar Bhasa alias Raja Sekhar Gudimella, an artist, listed as accused number 4.

Both were asked to appear earlier this month to record their statements. However, as the questioning did not yield substantive leads, they were subsequently directed to submit written explanations. According to Cyber Crimes Deputy Commissioner of Police T. Sai Manohar, the written replies are yet to be furnished and fresh notices will be issued.

The police officer said the investigation has been particularly demanding due to the number of accused and the absence of verified addresses of several of them. A team of around a dozen personnel headed by an investigating officer is currently engaged in analysing the material in question, including 76 specific URLs and numerous social media handles which were alleged to have posted profanities, obscene remarks and sexually explicit content targeting the actress.

The police said much of the alleged abuse was disseminated through YouTube, web URLs and anonymous or pseudonymous handles. Efforts are under way to secure IP address data and other technical details to establish the identity, contact information and residential addresses of those involved, following which further summons would be issued and prosecution steps will be taken.

The investigators also pointed to procedural delays in securing cooperation from social media companies headquartered abroad. Formal communications were sent seeking user data and other technical assistance, but responses were not received immediately, adding to the time taken to move the case forward.