Vijay Deverakonda Under Fire, Booked For Derogatory Comments Against Tribals
Booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Telugu actor allegedly made derogatory remarks that were seen as an insult to the dignity of the tribal community.
Telugu film actor Vijay Deverakonda has been booked by the Raidurgam police under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly making derogatory remarks against tribal communities during a public event in April. The complaint, filed by Nenavath Ashok Kumar Naik, the State President of the Joint Action Committee of Tribal Communities, concerns comments made by the actor at the pre-release event of his film Retro on April 26.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the actor is accused of comparing tribal communities to Pakistani terrorists and stating they "behave like tribals did 500 years ago, fighting without common sense.” At the even, the Liger actor said, “The solution to what is happening in Kashmir is also to educate them [terrorists] and ensure they don’t get brainwashed. What will they achieve? Kashmir belongs to India, and Kashmiris are ours."
A YouTube link to the event, posted on Sithara Entertainment’s official channel, was attached to the complaint, which claims the statements were “deeply insulting” and widely shared on social media platforms. “The remarks were viewed as a serious insult to the self-respect and dignity of the tribal community. Therefore, the complainant requested to take necessary action against Shri Vijay Devarakonda as per law,” the FIR stated.
Following the controversy, Deverakonda issued a clarification via his official X account. “It has come to my attention that a remark I made during the Retro audio launch event has caused concern among some members of the public. I wish to sincerely clarify: there was absolutely no intention to hurt or target any community, especially our Scheduled Tribes, who I deeply respect and consider an integral part of our country.”
Police have registered the case and stated that an investigation is underway. In a related development, the SR Nagar police had also booked Deverakonda in early May under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, based on similar allegations.
As of now, no arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing.