Union minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s son arrested in POCSO case

Union minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s son Bandi Bageerath was arrested late Saturday night in connection with a POCSO case after an intensive search operation by the Cyberabad police, and was later remanded to judicial custody by a magistrate.

“Police have arrested the accused,” a senior police official told PTI.

According to the Cyberabad commissioner of police, multiple teams were dispatched to Karimnagar, Delhi and other locations to trace Bageerath after a lookout circular was issued against him earlier in the day. Police also searched houses of acquaintances and locations he was known to frequent.

Acting on specific intelligence inputs, police set up a naka bandi near the police academy before the Special Operations Team (SOT) apprehended Bageerath at Manchirevula under the Narsingi police limits on Saturday night.

He was subsequently shifted to the Petbasheerabad police station, where investigators questioned him in the presence of panch witnesses.

“The accused admitted to having committed the offence. Hence, the IO arrested him,” the police release stated.

After undergoing a medical examination, Bageerath was produced before a magistrate, who sent him to judicial custody.

The arrest came a day after the Telangana High Court refused to grant him interim protection from arrest while hearing his anticipatory bail petition.

The case was registered on 8 May under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the POCSO Act following a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl. The complainant alleged that Bageerath, who was allegedly in a relationship with her daughter, sexually harassed the minor.

Police later invoked more stringent provisions of the POCSO Act after recording the girl’s statement before a magistrate. Statements of both the girl and her mother were formally recorded on Saturday as part of the investigation process to ensure consistency during trial proceedings.

Meanwhile, Bandi Sanjay defended his son, saying he had advised him to cooperate with investigators.

“Satya Meva Jayate. With utmost respect for the law and judiciary, today my son Bandi Bageerath went before the Telangana Police through our advocates for investigation,” the Union minister posted on X.

Sanjay claimed that his son had consistently maintained his innocence and had submitted evidence in his favour to legal counsel. According to him, lawyers believed the case would eventually be quashed and bail granted, which allegedly caused the delay in joining the probe.

Bageerath has also filed a counter-complaint, alleging that the girl’s family pressured him to marry her and later attempted to extort money after he refused.

In his complaint, Bageerath claimed the girl’s family invited him to family gatherings and pilgrimages, and later demanded Rs 5 crore while threatening to file false cases against him. He alleged that he had already paid Rs 50,000 to the girl’s father “out of fear”.

He further claimed the family threatened that the girl’s mother would die by suicide if their demands were not met. Police registered an FIR based on his complaint as well.

The politically sensitive case has sparked sharp reactions in Telangana.

K. Kavitha wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding the removal of Bandi Sanjay from the Union cabinet to ensure a “free and fair investigation”.

The Telangana government has appointed IPS officer Ritiraj to supervise the probe following directions from chief minister A. Revanth Reddy, who reportedly asked that the investigation be handled by a woman officer.

With PTI inputs