Dodda Rakesh Gandhi, a Dalit youth and outspoken social media activist from Chilakaluripeta, sits in Narasaraopeta jail, ensnared in what he and his supporters call a vicious political trap. Once a vocal critic of the coalition government’s failures, Rakesh now faces charges of attempted murder and robbery allegations he insists are a “fake narrative” cooked up by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) loyalists to crush his activism and silence his voice.
Former Minister Vidudala Rajani visited him in jail, emerging with a blistering condemnation of the ruling coalition. “This is veandetta politics at its ugliest,” she told reporters. “They’ve targeted Rakesh because he dared to question their incompetence through his social media posts. Now, they’ve spun a web of lies to lock him away.”
A Voice for the Voiceless
Rakesh Gandhi, a self-described “Jaganism” supporter aligned with the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), built a following on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, where he exposed what he saw as the coalition’s neglect of Dalits and marginalized communities. Accounts like “Rakesh Jaganism” and “Chilakaluripet Politics” became his megaphone, railing against TDP MLA Prattipati Pullarao and the broader power structure in Andhra Pradesh.
But his outspokenness came at a cost. On March 6, 2025, Rakesh’s life took a drastic turn when Abdul Basha Shaik, a TDP functionary and iron trader from Chilakaluripet, filed a complaint accusing Rakesh and two friends – Nagishetti Jai Phanindra Kumar and Damishetti Rama Koteswara Rao – of a violent ambush. Basha claimed the trio stopped him near Kalamandir Center, threatened to kill him, and stole his phone after he refused to back off from filing a police case over their “obscene” Facebook posts.
The Fake Narrative Unraveled
Rakesh and his allies dismiss Basha’s story as a meticulously crafted lie. “I wasn’t even in Chilakaluripeta that night,” Rakesh reportedly insisted. “I’ve been in Guntur for months, hiding from their harassment. How could I attack him?” His claim aligns with Rajani’s evidence: CCTV footage showing him in Guntur, over 40 kilometers away, on March 6 at 9 PM, the exact time Basha alleges the assault occurred.
The posts Basha cited as the motive mocking MLA Pullarao, his family, and even Nara Bhuvaneswari, wife of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, are real, Rajani admits, but she defends them as Rakesh’s right to free speech. “He exposed their failures and hypocrisy,” she said. “They couldn’t handle the truth, so they invented this attack to bury him under false charges.”
→ Abdul Basha Shaik Complaint copy
Basha’s complaint tells a wild story: he says Rakesh pulled out a machete, his friends Phanindra Nagishetti and Damishetti Koteshwar surrounded him, and they threatened to use Basha’s stolen phone to post rude stuff on social media. But Rakesh’s supporters say it doesn’t add up. “If I took his phone, where is it now?” Rakesh supposedly asked. “They’ve got no proof because it’s all made up.” Rajani agrees, pointing out that Phanindra was at a salon in Guntur and Koteshwar was at work in Hyderabad, both backed up by CCTV and people who saw them, making Basha’s claim of a group attack hard to believe.
A Conspiracy Rooted in Revenge
Vidadhala Rajani and Rakesh’s camp accuse MLA Pullarao of masterminding the frame-up, with Basha as his willing pawn. “Pullarao’s been after me since I started calling him out,” Rakesh told Rajani. “This is his way of shutting me up.” The charge of Section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) is unusually severe for an alleged phone theft, suggesting, Rajani argues, a deliberate escalation to ensure Rakesh’s detention.
The roots of this clash trace back to Rakesh’s social media campaign rattling TDP ranks. Basha, as Chilakaluripet’s TDP constituency-in-charge, admits he consulted colleagues who shared his outrage. But Rakesh’s side claims this outrage morphed into a plot: fabricate an attack, file a complaint, and let the police do the rest.
“They threatened me for months,” Rakesh reportedly said, referencing Basha’s claim that he’d warned him against filing a case days earlier. “When I didn’t stop posting, they made up this story to destroy me.”
A Dalit targeted, a System exposed
Rajani says Rakesh’s fight is part of a bigger war on Dalits by the TDP-led coalition. “Since they took over, they’ve been going after anyone who speaks up, especially Dalits,” she said. “Rakesh is the latest one they’ve trapped.” She claims the police are just following Pullarao’s orders, ignoring proof like the CCTV that clears Rakesh and his friends. Rakesh supporters have submitted the footage and alibis to the court, hoping to dismantle what they call Basha’s “fake narrative.” Meanwhile, the case has ignited a firestorm over free speech, caste-based vendettas, and police complicity in Andhra Pradesh.
This isn’t the first time a Dalit activist has faced this kind of heat. Just months ago, in December 2024, Puli Sagar, another Dalit activist from Rajamahendravaram, went through hell at Prakash Nagar Police Station. Sagar told a YSRCP delegation he was called in over a social media post questioning TDP MLA Adireddy Srinivas’s flood relief claims. There, Inspector SK Baji yelled at him, stripped him down, locked him in a cell with women constables watching, and threatened to kill him if he didn’t back off. Sagar’s abuse, highlighted by procedural slip-ups and media spin, sent shockwaves, raising global alarm about Andhra Pradesh’s crackdown on free speech and rights. Like Rakesh, Sagar’s case shows a pattern: Dalits who challenge power get targeted, and the system bends to protect the powerful.
A Fight Far from Over
As Rakesh awaits justice, his story resonates beyond Narasaraopeta. “This isn’t just about me,” he said. “It’s about every Dalit they want to silence”. Rajani vows to keep fighting, warning that the coalition’s tactics will backfire. “The people see through their lies,” she declared. “Rakesh’s voice won’t be snuffed out that easily.”
For now, the Dalit activist languishes behind bars, a symbol of resistance against what he calls a corrupt and vengeful regime. Whether the courts will vindicate him or bury him under Basha’s accusations remains to be seen.
