Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President KTR on Friday, May 15, accused the Telangana government of giving a free pass to Bandi Sai Bageerath, who is booked in a POCSO case for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl.
He said the accused had been absconding for over a week while the state government ignored the matter.
In a post on X, the Sircilla MLA said the Congress government was neglecting its duty by refusing to fight for the victim in court and allegedly protecting the accused instead.
Bandi Bageerath POCSO case
The former Telangana minister’s remark comes at a time when the Telangana High Court is set to hear the interim bail plea filed by Bageerath in the POCSO case.
On May 8, all hell broke loose at the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay’s household after a POCSO case was registered against his son, Bandi Bageerath, at the Pet Basheerabad police station, following allegations made by the family of a 17-year-old girl.
According to the complainant, Bageerath made the victim consume alcohol and sexually assaulted her at a farmhouse on the outskirts of Hyderabad on three separate occasions.
Bageerath filed a counter-complaint with police in Karimnagar alleging extortion and intimidation by the girl and her parents. He said the girl became acquainted with him and invited him to family functions and group gatherings.
He alleged that the girl’s family later pressured him to marry her and demanded money after he refused. He claimed that he paid Rs 50,000 to the girl’s father out of fear, but the family later demanded Rs 5 crore and threatened to file false complaints if he failed to comply.
Following Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s orders, a Special Investigation Team was constituted and Kukatpally Deputy Commissioner of Police Ritiraj was deputed to head it.
On May 12, the Petbasheerabad Police altered the charges of the POCSO from harassment of a child to aggravated penetrative sexual assault.
The following day, the Union Minister’s son failed to appear for questioning before the SIT at the Pet Basheerabad Police Station, and requested two days time that would enable him to “collate the relevant material, documents and information in his possession, and assist the investigation into the false allegations made against him and his family.”
The controversy has triggered a political storm in Telangana, with opposition parties attacking the BJP leadership over the case.
