Telangana police have filed an FIR against participants in an online chat where lewd comments amounting to child abuse were made on a fun video made by a father and his child. The action follows a public outcry on X, initiated by actor Sai Dharam Tej, who drew attention to the shocking comments to the father-daughter video clip.
In response to the actor’s appeal, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy assured swift action to safeguard child safety. DGP Ravi Gupta confirmed that offenders who misuse social media for harmful purposes would face the consequences. Efforts to identify the culprits and raise awareness about child safety and responsible social media use are underway.
The incident has sparked widespread outrage on social media, with demands for severe punishment for those involved. Despite an apology from the main accused, netizens insisted on legal consequences.
Actor Sai Dharam Tej expressed his disgust, stating, “This is beyond gruesome, disgusting and scary. Monsters like these go unnoticed on social media doing child abuse in the name of so-called fun.”Violence on the rise
Violence against girls on the rise
Sajaya, a member of the Women and Transgender Joint Action Committee, said abuse, both verbal and physical, has gone up significantly. “Porn videos are in circulation. Making lewd comments on children in private talks is happening. Sexual attacks on them by their family members is also on the rise,” she said.
“You need to educate people at different levels. To begin with, you need to sensitise institutions. You need to educate police and those in the medical department on how to handle these cases with a human touch,” said.
A psychiatrist has called for a forensic risk assessment of the accused, as they could pose a threat to children. “People with such thoughts don’t mind committing the crime at an opportune time. There is no protection for children ,” he said, responding to the incident.
A forensic risk assessment is done to ascertain the potential risk a person might pose in future and the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated.