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Andhra Pradesh: Telugu YouTuber Raavan has been booked under various sections of the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Raavan, whose real name is B Joseph, has been a vocal critic of the current Chandrababu Naidu-Pawan Kalyan-led government.

This is the fifth arrest of the YouTuber in four days.

He was arrested along with Hyderabad-based YouTube political commentator K Venkatrami Reddy.

Since June 30, Raavan and the Andhra Police have been engaged in a game of cat and mouse, with the YouTuber repeatedly being arrested, securing bail and then being arrested again in connection with another case. Most cases are concerning his remarks against Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan.

He was first picked up by the Pithapuram police. After the magistrate granted him station bail, he was immediately arrested by the Sarpavaram police. He got bail in that case when he was arrested again by the Inaguduru police and then the Payakaraopeta police. He got bail in the Payakaraopeta case on the evening of July 4 (Saturday) and was on his way back home when he was arrested yet again at the Vempadu toll gate. 

He has been booked under Section 13 (punishment for unlawful activities) and Section 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) of the UAPA. A notice was issued to his wife informing her of his arrest in the Gannavaram case.

According to The News Minute, the Sarpavaram police stated that Raavan was arrested for allegedly using children to commit an offence. They were referring to his interview with Dalit children where they spoke about caste discrimination by their teachers and classmates.

The school is located in Yendapallu, under Pawan Kalyan’s Pithapuram constituency. The YouTuber had questioned the Deputy CM over the issue in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel Prashna. 

Before his arrest, Raavan recorded a video saying that instead of looking at public affairs, the state government was busy booking charges against him. He said that Jana Sena party workers who had gathered outside police stations allegedly tried to attack him.

“You can kill me, but you cannot kill all questioning voices,” Raavan said, addressing the Andhra Pradesh government.