Hyderabad Police add harsher charges against Bandi Sanjay’s son in POCSO case

Cyberabad Police have added stricter charges against Bandi Sai Bageerath, the son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and BJP leader Bandi Sanjay Kumar, in connection with an ongoing case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

According to police officials, investigators have now invoked Section 64(2)(m) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which relates to repeated rape of the same person. The additional charge significantly escalates the seriousness of the allegations already levelled against Bageerath in the case involving a minor girl.

Bageerath was arrested earlier this week and has been remanded to judicial custody till May 29. The case was initially registered under provisions of the POCSO Act and sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita after a complaint was filed alleging sexual assault and harassment of a 17-year-old girl.

The Cyberabad Police had earlier strengthened the case by invoking Section 5(l) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act, dealing with aggravated penetrative sexual assault. Officials said the newer charges were added after further examination of the survivor’s statements and evidence gathered during the investigation.

The survivor’s statement has reportedly been recorded before a magistrate under provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Police have also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by a senior woman police officer to oversee the probe.

The arrest came shortly after the Telangana High Court declined to grant interim protection from arrest to Bageerath. During the hearing, his legal team argued that the relationship between the accused and the girl had been consensual. However, the plea was opposed by the survivor’s counsel, and the court refused to pass any interim relief order at that stage.

Police and the defence have also presented conflicting accounts regarding Bageerath’s custody. While Cyberabad Police stated that he was apprehended during a naka-bandi operation near Hyderabad following specific intelligence inputs, his lawyers claimed he had voluntarily surrendered for investigation.

Bageerath has denied the allegations and described the case as a “honey-trap and extortion attempt.” In his complaint to police, he alleged that the survivor’s family pressured him to marry the girl and demanded ₹5 crore.

Reacting to the controversy, Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar said he had instructed his son to cooperate fully with the investigation and maintained that “everyone is equal before the law.”

The case has also triggered political reactions in Telangana. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K T Rama Rao demanded Bandi Sanjay’s removal from the Union Cabinet, alleging that a fair probe would not be possible otherwise.

Meanwhile, Cyberabad Police have separately registered cases against several social media accounts for allegedly revealing the identity of the minor survivor in violation of POCSO provisions.

The investigation is ongoing, and officials said further charges could be added depending on forensic findings, digital evidence and witness statements collected during the probe.