After a week’s manhunt, Bandi Bhageerath, son of the Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar, was arrested in a POCSO case on Saturday night, following which he ‘confessed’ to the crime, informed the Police. The accused has been remanded to judicial custody by a magistrate.
"Police have arrested the accused," a senior police official said.
In a release issued after midnight, the Cyberabad Commissioner of Police announced that various teams were dispatched to Karimnagar, Delhi, and other locations to apprehend Bhageerath. The teams also searched other places he frequented, including his acquaintances' homes. Acting on reliable information that Bhageerath was near the police academy in the city, a police checkpoint (naka bandi) was organised.
Based on reliable information, the Special Operations Team (SOT) of the Cyberabad police apprehended Bhageerath at Manchirevula, within the Narsingi police limits. He was then shifted to the Petbasheerabad police station.
Bhageerath was examined by the investigation officer in the presence of 'panch witnesses' (unbiased citizens).
"The accused admitted to having committed the offence. Hence, the IO arrested him," the release said. Following a medical examination, Bhageerath was produced before a magistrate, who remanded him to judicial custody.
The complaint against Bandi was filed on May 8 under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the POCSO Act. Police had earlier issued a look-out circular against him to prevent him from fleeing India.
As part of the investigation, the statements of the alleged victim (17) and her mother, who is the complainant in the case, were recorded before a magistrate on Saturday. The statement is recorded to ensure that accounts are reliably documented and to prevent individuals from changing their testimonies during trial.
However, Bandi Sanjay said he had asked his son to appear before the police and join the probe.
"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 said in a post on X. The development comes a day after the Telangana High Court refused to grant interim relief to Bandi, his father and Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar. On Saturday, Sanjay said he had asked his son to appear before the police and join the investigation.
However, Bhageerath, who has repeatedly maintained that he has done no wrongdoing, presented evidence in his favour to his lawyers, the union minister said.
According to Bandi Sanjay, the lawyers opined that the case would be quashed and that Bhageerath would get bail, which led to the delay.
Meanwhile, Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) president K Kavitha, in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanded the removal of Sanjay Kumar, MoS (Home), from the Union Cabinet "to ensure a free and fair investigation in the POCSO case involving his son."
In a setback for Bhageerath, the Telangana High Court denied his request for interim protection from arrest on Friday night. Hearing an anticipatory bail petition filed by Bhageerath, the court said it was not inclined to grant any interim relief at this stage. The counsel for Bhageerath had requested interim protection from arrest until orders on the petition were passed.
The case was registered under relevant sections of the BNS and the POCSO Act against Bhageerath based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl, who alleged that he was in a relationship with her daughter and sexually harassed her. After recording the girl's statement, more severe charges under the POCSO Act were applied.
Bhageerath had also lodged a complaint, alleging that the girl, who had got acquainted with him, had invited him to family functions and group gatherings. An FIR was registered based on his complaint. In the complaint, Bhageerath stated that, believing the girl's family to be trustworthy, he accompanied them on visits to certain holy places as part of a group of friends.
He further alleged that the girl and her parents later pressured him to marry her. When he rejected the proposal, the girl's parents allegedly demanded money and threatened to file false complaints against him if he failed to pay.
Bhageerath claimed that, out of fear, he paid Rs 50,000 to the girl's father, but the family later demanded Rs 5 crore. He also alleged that they threatened that the girl's mother would die by suicide if he failed to meet their demands.
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