Hyderabad: Bandi Bageerath, the accused in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case involving an alleged sexual assault of a seventeen-year-old minor victim has surrendered himself before the Pet Basheerabad police on Saturday evening, May 16.
He was accompanied by his team of lawyers, in whose presence the police will question him.
Bageerath was issued a notice to appear before the police on May 13, but he had written to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Ritiraj probing the POCSO case, that he would appear before them on May 15.
However, he couldn’t get any immediate relief in the Telangana High Court in his interim bail petition, the final hearing of which concluded on Saturday night at around 11.45 pm, May 15.
The High Court’s single bench comprising Justice T Madhavi Devi had ruled that the order for the interim bail has been reserved, to be pronounced on Monday or Thursday next week, when the vacation bench is functioning.
As speculations were rife that he may have fled the country, the police also issued an Interpol alert on Saturday, and also formed 5 special teams to search for him at his residence in Karimnagar, his relatives’ and friends’ houses.
Even as the searches continued throughout the day, Bageerath’s surrender before the police finally put the curtains down.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay has reportedly stated that he has submitted his son Bageerath before the police because of the respect he has for the rule of law.
“Whether it is my son, or anybody else, we all are equal before the law, and we all need to act under the law,” he stated, also noting that Bageerath has been telling him repeatedly that he has done nothing wrong.
