Hyderabad, April 13: Swathi Devineni, an NRI from Telangana, has been booked by police in New Jersey for allegedly deriding US' handling of the coronavirus outbreak. A case was lodged against Swathi Devineni following a complaint by another NRI Sravan. In his complaint, Sravan alleged that Devineni recorded a video of her, in which she had chanted "Mera Bharat Mahan", and made "anti-national" comments on US' coronavirus response. New York City Now Has More COVID-19 Cases Than China And UK With Over 104,410 Coronavirus Patients.

In the video, Devineni can be heard drawing a parallel between India's response to the coronavirus outbreak and that of the United States. The video shows her saying that the United States had failed to curb the coronavirus pandemic and India had prevented it successfully. The video went viral on social media, drawing mixed reactions from Telugu people based in the US. Coronavirus Cases in US Surpass 550,000, Death Toll Reaches 21,994.

“America is a rich country with enough mechanism. But they could not expect the coronavirus outbreak. However, India forecasted (sic) it wisely and was able to prevent it," Devineni had said in the video. "Mera Bharat Mahan (India is the greatest)," she had boasted. After a case was registered, Devineni shared another video in which she apologised for her comments on US' handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

“My intension is not to degrade the US. I just praised my motherland about how it is tackling Covid-19. Moreover, it was not my personal script. I read a script which is already in circulation (sic)," she said. Devineni said someone downloaded her video and posted it on social media without her permission. Devineni, who had worked in Telugu media, hails from Khammam district in Telangana. She shifted to the US a year ago with her techie husband.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 13, 2020 07:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).