At a public meeting of the BJP in Hyderabad on May 10, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kamar stood out as a major attraction. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the chief guest, had the obvious limelight, the union minister’s rhetorical speech roused the BJP cadre, once again proving his formidable position in the Telangana BJP.
However, a section of opposition parties questioned the decision to give him such prominence. The reason for the backlash is a POCSO case registered against his son, Bandi Sai Bhageerath, at Petbasheerabad police station in Hyderabad on the night of May 8.
The parents of a 17-year-old girl alleged that Bhageerath befriended their daughter on the pretext of marriage and sexually harassed/molested her on December 31, 2025, at a farmhouse in Moinabad. They further claimed that the minor girl was forced to consume alcohol during the incident.
Earlier on the same day, Bhageerath lodged a counter-complaint at Karimnagar II Town Police Station, accusing the girl and her family of blackmailing and extorting him for Rs 5 crore. He claimed he had already paid Rs. 50,000 under duress and described the allegations as a honey-trap after he refused to marry the girl. Police registered an FIR against the girl and her parents based on his complaint.
The Telangana BJP unit has extended unequivocal support to Bandi Sanjay Kumar, terming the charges against his son a “honey-trap” and an extortion attempt. In an official media statement, the party alleged that the girl’s family tried to file a false POCSO case by deliberately misrepresenting her age. The statement also suggested that police should investigate whether the parents had been involved in similar cases in the past.
According to local media reports, Bhageerath has not denied his acquaintance with the girl. He stated that he had attended family functions and gone on pilgrimages with the girl’s family to places such as Tirumala, Arunachalam and others. However, he alleged that after he refused to marry the girl, her family began pressuring and threatening him with false POCSO allegations and demanding money. He claimed he transferred Rs 50,000 to the family under extreme pressure.
R.S. Praveen Kumar, BRS general secretary and former IPS officer, launched a scathing attack on both the BJP and the Congress government. He alleged that the girl’s mother reached Petbasheerabad Police Station around 6 pm on May 8, but was deliberately made to wait for 5–6 hours so that Bhageerath could register his complaint first in Karimnagar.
“This delay was intentional to make the victim’s complaint appear as a counter-case,” he said.
Praveen Kumar dismissed the extortion theory, pointing out that the girl comes from a well-to-do family with no financial motive. He questioned the logic of an ordinary family attempting to extort the son of a union minister. He also accused the Revanth Reddy government of deliberately delaying the case under political pressure from Bandi Sanjay. Police have stated that they will record the girl’s statement and conduct a medical examination. However, as of May 11, there was no confirmation that the medical tests had been completed.
Under mounting pressure, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy reportedly questioned DGP C.V. Anand over the delay in acting on the complaint. Meanwhile, the Telangana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, chaired by Kothakota Seetha Dayakar Reddy, took suo motu cognisance of the case and directed prompt action.
The police are now investigating both FIRs, examining call data records, financial transactions, and other evidence. The BJP and Bandi Sanjay Kumar continue to maintain Bhageerath’s innocence and have vowed to fight the case legally. In his speech on May 10, Bandi Sanjay asserted that he was not afraid of “fake allegations” and declared that neither he nor his family would go into hiding.