It is a well-known fact that Eenadu and Andhra Jyothy, along with their affiliated television channels — ETV and ABN-Andhra Jyothy — and several other media outlets, have consistently supported the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and adopted a distinctly anti-YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) stance.
In particular, Eenadu and Andhra Jyothy have published a series of negative stories targeting the previous YSRCP government led by former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Both media houses appear to be working in tandem to discredit the Jagan administration.
Reports suggest that police authorities and government officials have been leaking information to these publications to publish slanderous stories against Jagan and the YSRCP.
Whether it involves the ongoing liquor scam investigation, the Kadambari Jethwani case, or the 2021 attack on the TDP office, the police seem to be systematically planting stories in these two newspapers to malign Jagan and the officials who served under his leadership.
For instance, on Monday, Eenadu and Andhra Jyothy published nearly identical stories alleging the involvement of Jagan’s former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) P Krishna Mohan Reddy and senior IPS officer P S R Anjaneyulu in a past fake passport racket. Both officials have recently been arrested in separate cases.
The language and tone of the stories suggest that they were likely planted by the police — reportedly at the behest of the ruling establishment — with the intent to tarnish these individuals' reputations.
According to the reports, both Krishna Mohan Reddy and PSR Anjaneyulu were allegedly involved in issuing a fake passport to actress Monica Bedi, known for her association with underworld don Abu Salem. The case drew national and international attention.
The reports state that on April 9, 2001, Krishna Mohan Reddy, then Tahsildar of Kurnool, issued a residence verification certificate to Monica Bedi under the alias Sana Malik Kamal, falsely stating that she resided on Babu Gound Street in Kurnool.
“Using this forged document, Monica Bedi successfully obtained an Indian passport. This enabled her and Abu Salem — an accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts and several sedition cases — to flee India and eventually land in Portugal in 2002, where they were arrested by local authorities,” the reports claim.
At the time of the passport issuance, PSR Anjaneyulu was serving as Superintendent of Police in Kurnool and reportedly issued a clearance certificate for the passport application based on local officers’ reports.
