Actor couple Rajasekhar and Jeevitha were sentenced to one year jail by a Nampally court in Hyderabad on Wednesday, June 19 for making unfounded allegations against megastar Chiranjeevi’s blood bank. 

In 2011 the couple, who were at loggerheads with Chiranjeevi, had alleged that Chiranjeevi’s charitable trust was selling the donated blood for profit. Also the couple claimed during television debates that there were several financial irregularities in the trust operated by Chiranjeevi. They said that the trust, which had got Rs. 14.5 lakh from the state government for the maintenance of their blood bank, was selling a unit of blood at Rs 850.

Following this, Chiranjeevi’s brother-in-law and popular producer Allu Arvind  filed a defamation case against the duo. 

Aravind said that the allegations made by Rajasekhar-Jeevitha and their follower Harikrishna Goud against Chiranjeevi's charitable trust were “politically motivated”.

The Nampally chief magistrate on Tuesday, July 18 sentenced Jeevitha and Rajasekhar to a one-year jail term and fined them Rs 5 lakh for their defamatory remarks. The couple have obtained bail and can appeal in a higher court against the sentence.

In the Telugu film industry, the rivalry between Rajasekhar-Jeevitha and Chiranjeevi is no secret. The feud escalated and turned ugly during a Movie Artistes Association (MAA) event in 2020. 

At the event Chiranjeevi asked all the artists to work together for the welfare of the fraternity. When his turn came, Rajasekhar accused Chiranjeevi of being a hypocrite. He even alleged that Chiranjeevi ruined his career. The latter  who was still on the dais at the time,  did not appreciate his behaviour and they got into a verbal duel. 

The couple were also ranged against Chiranjeevi politically. When the actor was in the Congress party, the couple supported YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who was ousted from the party after his father’s death.