Telugu actor Vijay Deverakonda has been booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Raidurgam police for allegedly making derogatory remarks against tribal communities throughout a public occasion.
The case was booked following a grievance filed by Nenavath Ashok Kumar Naik, State President of the Joint Action Committee of Tribal Communities, citing the feedback made by the actor on April 26, 2025, in the course of the pre-release occasion of the movie Retro.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), seen by The Hindu, the actor allegedly referred to tribal folks as missing intelligence and customary sense and likened them to Pakistani terrorists. “He insulted their tribal community by saying that they had beaten them 500 years ago without any intelligence and minimum common sense. Moreover, he made comments comparing them to Pakistani terrorists,” the complainant mentioned.
Attaching the YouTube hyperlink within the written grievance, Mr. Naik said that these feedback weren’t solely offensive however deeply insulting to the dignity and self-respect of the tribal neighborhood. He mentioned that the content material was shared throughout a number of media channels, together with YouTube by way of Sithara Entertainment’s channel, drawing widespread criticism.
Investigation is under approach.
Meanwhile, earlier in May, the SR Nagar police registered a case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against Vijay, claiming his feedback had been deeply offensive and amounted to demeaning the tribal inhabitants. Shortly later, the actor launched a press release on his X account, clarifying that “there was no intention to hurt or target any community, especially our Scheduled Tribes, who I deeply respect and consider an integral part of our country.”
“I was speaking about unity – about how India is one, our people are one, and how we must move forward together. In what world would I, while urging us to stand as a country, deliberately discriminate against any group of Indians – all of whom I see as my family, like my brothers,” the actor’s assertion learn.
