Bandi Sai Bhageerath, son of Bandi Sanjay Kumar, the minister of state for home, has moved the vacation bench of the Telangana High Court seeking pre-bail in the POCSO case filed against him for his alleged molestation of a 17-year-old student.
According to news reports, the court has set the bail hearing for May 14. The case has already taken a serious turn, as Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy expressed his displeasure with the DGP C.V. Anand for not taking swift action in the case. Subsequent to the CM's intervention, the police department has appointed DSP Rituraj as the special officer in this case.
In a separate development, the Telangana State Council for Protection of Child Rights has taken suo motu cognisance of the case and constituted a special bench to investigate into allegations that he molested a girl at a New Year's party on a farmhouse in Moinabad in Hyderabad suburbs on December 31.
The BJP Telangana unit, which had previously dismissed the case and supported Bhageerath’s version, now toned down its criticism. State president N. Ramachandra Rao, in his latest statement, said Bandi Sanjay Kumar is the party’s leader; however, the party has nothing to do with his “family matters”. This is a clear shift from the party’s previous stand, which univocally supported the narrative that the girl’s family was trying to extract money from Bhageerath by threatening him with a POCSO case.
The police, however, have declared that Bhageerath (25) has been absconding and his phone was switched off. The Opposition Bharath Rashtra Samithi blasted the Congress government for not acting even four days after the POCSO case was filed. Party general secretary and former IPS officer R.S. Praveen Kumar demanded that a lookout notice be issued against Bhageerath and announced a financial reward for anyone who provides information on his whereabouts. He also demanded the dismissal of Bandi Sanjay Kumar from the Union Cabinet.
Praveen Kumar alleged that the police of Petbasheerbagh station, where the POCSO case was filed, pressurised the girl’s family to withdraw the complaint and demanded the suspension of the station house officer, assistant commissioner of police and other responsible officials. He also demanded that the name of the minister be added for allegedly trying to threaten the victim’s family. He alleged that CM Reddy is afraid of the ED and CBI, and is therefore trying to subvert the investigation.
However, Reddy dismissed the BRS leader’s allegations. He said the police couldn’t act as they were busy with the May 10 meeting of the prime minister. He said the special investigation team would probe into allegations and bring out the truth. The CM said nobody was above the law and urged Praveen Kumar to provide any specific evidence directly to the police. Talking to the media on May 11, the Telangana BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar warned the police that they would face action if they failed to fulfil their duties in this case.
THE WEEK contacted a police officer specialising in POCSO cases to assess the case's strength. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officer said the case is not as weak as the Union minister’s family suggests. “The police ought to have conducted medical tests on the girl by now,” said the officer, adding that call data records could indicate the extent of their relationship and circumstantial evidence could play a role in determining the crime, if it happened. Some social media users have posted what they claim are confidential pictures of Bhageerath with the minor girl. These pictures, if true, could confirm his intimacy with the girl.
Meanwhile, the BRS women leaders have met the TSCPCR chairman Kottakota Seetha Dayakar Reddy and submitted a representation demanding the immediate arrest of Bhageerath on May 11. Praveen Kumar questioned the silence of Congress women ministers and women leaders on this matter. Some people have questioned on social media how the Telangana police have failed to trace Bhageerath even after four days.
