Indian minister’s son arrested in minor sexual assault case
Dubai: Bandi Bhageerath Sai, the son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and BJP MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, has been arrested in a POCSO case after allegedly admitting during questioning that he sexually assaulted a minor girl, according to the Cyberabad Police.
The arrest came hours after the Telangana High Court refused to grant interim protection from arrest to the 25-year-old, who had been accused by a 17-year-old girl of harassment and sexual assault.
In a statement issued after midnight on Saturday, Cyberabad Police Commissioner M. Ramesh said Bhageerath was taken into custody near a tech park in Manchirevula under the Narsingi police station limits following a naka-bandi operation based on “reliable information”.
Police said multiple teams had been searching for him in Karimnagar, Delhi and other locations, while a Look Out Circular had also been issued.
“On reliable information that the accused was moving near police academy, naka-bandi was organised today,” the commissioner said, adding that the Special Operations Team apprehended Bhageerath at around 8.15pm on May 16 and shifted him to Pet Basheerabad police station.
According to police, Bhageerath was questioned in the presence of panch witnesses and “admitted to have committed the said offence”, following which he was formally arrested.
He was later produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody for two weeks.
The case was initially registered on May 8 under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Following the victim’s statement, police added more serious charges under Section 64(2)(m) of the BNS and Section 5(l) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act.
Late-night hearing
The victim’s statement was also recorded before a magistrate under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
During a late-night hearing on Friday, Justice T Madhavi Devi of the Telangana High Court declined to pass any interim order protecting Bhageerath from arrest.
His counsel argued that the complainant’s mother had earlier described the relationship between the two as cordial and consensual. The plea was strongly opposed by the survivor’s lawyer.
Bhageerath has denied the allegations, claiming he was the target of a “honey-trap and extortion attempt”. He alleged that the girl’s family pressured him to marry her and demanded Rs5 crore.
Reacting to the arrest, Bandi Sanjay Kumar said he had instructed his son to cooperate fully with investigators and maintained that “everyone is equal before the law”.
“With utmost respect for the law and judiciary, today my son Bandi Bhageerath went before the Telangana Police through our advocates for investigation,” the minister wrote on X.
He added that although legal proceedings were continuing and court orders were expected next week, he believed there “should be no hesitation” in cooperating with the investigation and expressed faith in the justice system.
The BJP leader also dismissed the allegations earlier as “false propaganda” spread by political opponents.
-- With IANS inputs
