Hyderabad: The arrest of Bandi Sai Bageerath in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case has dominated Telangana’s political landscape over the past two weeks. Here is a look at who is involved, what is alleged, and how the case has unfolded.
Bageerath is the 25-year-old son of Karimnagar MP and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, one of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) most prominent faces in Telangana. The case against him has put his father, as well as the party, in an uncomfortable spotlight.
On May 8, a case was registered by the Pet Basheerabad Police based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl, who alleged that Bageerath sexually assaulted her daughter on two separate occasions at a farmhouse on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The case was registered under sections 74 (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 75 (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 11 (acts committed with sexual intent, such as passing sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography, making inappropriate gestures or digital stalking) and 12 (sexual harassment of a child) of POCSO Act.
The survivor’s mother later released a detailed statement saying her daughter first met Bageerath in 2025, that he initially presented himself as a friend, and that the relationship gradually began to affect the girl’s studies. According to the statement, Bageerath sexually assaulted the girl for the first time on December 31, 2025, after consuming alcohol, and that the assaults continued on subsequent occasions.
The family said that while they were mentally and legally preparing to fight the case, they learned on April 21, 2026, that a blackmail complaint had been filed against their daughter. The following day, a man identified as Sangappa visited their home to mediate between the two parties.
On April 23, the family met Bandi Sanjay Kumar through Sangappa, hoping the minister would intervene. The survivor’s mother alleged that Kumar spoke to them in a derogatory manner, threatened them and drove them away.
On the same day the first information report (FIR) was registered, Bageerath filed his own complaint at the Two Town Police Station in Karimnagar. He claimed he met the girl through common friends, that the two developed a friendly relationship over time, and that both families had socialised together, including visiting temples in Vijayawada, Arunachalam and Tirumala.
He alleged that the girl’s parents subsequently pressured him to marry her and, when he refused, threatened to file criminal cases against him. He said he paid the girl’s father Rs 50,000 on one occasion, after which the family escalated their demand to Rs 5 crore, with the girl’s mother allegedly threatening suicide if the amount was not paid.
Bageerath also claimed that some of his friends had faced similar issues with the same family, and that a complaint had been lodged at Nirmal Police Station in Adilabad district in April 2026. He urged the police to investigate the threats and provide him protection.
On May 12, Bageerath approached the Telangana High Court‘s vacation bench seeking interim bail. His counsel, senior advocate S Niranjan Reddy, argued that bail in POCSO cases was not unprecedented and that courts had inherent authority to grant it.
He submitted chat message exchanges between the two individuals, claiming they showed “cordial relations” eight to 10 hours before and after each of the alleged incidents. He also argued that the minor girl had actively chosen destinations for some of the outings and had purchased film tickets on one occasion.
On May 15, Justice T Madhavi Devi rejected Bageerath’s interim bail plea after a marathon hearing that ran from 9 pm to 11.45 pm, and reserved orders on the anticipatory bail petition for May 21. The judge declined to grant interim protection or status quo despite repeated requests from his counsel.
During the hearing, Justice Devi flagged a social media smear campaign targeting her, saying claims had been circulated that she had been offered something in exchange for granting bail. Senior counsel Niranjan Reddy said he had seen the same content but had chosen to ignore it, adding that strict action was needed to prevent such attacks on the judiciary.
Meanwhile, the Cyberabad Police had tracked Bageerath’s mobile phone location and sent a notice to his uncle’s residence on May 13. By May 14, with Bageerath failing to appear before the Pet Basheerabad Police, Cyberabad police launched a formal search operation, dispatching special teams to Hyderabad, Karimnagar and Delhi.
In Karimnagar, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) student wing BRSV put up posters calling him an absconder.
The case put the Telangana BJP in an awkward position. State party president N Ramchander Rao described it as something that happened within Bandi Sanjay’s family, with which the party had nothing to do. He added that even Bandi Sanjay was not personally involved, and that if a family member was found guilty, the law would take its course.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy took a sharper line, questioning Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) CV Anand directly over the initial delay in action on May 11, and ordering special investigation teams to be constituted. The DGP explained that personnel had been tied up in bandobast duty ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s public meeting in Hyderabad.
Reddy subsequently ordered the appointment of Kukatpally Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ritija to lead the investigation. The Telangana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights also said a special bench would take up the case after obtaining details from the Hyderabad Police.
Bageerath was arrested on May 16 near Appa Junction, close to the Telangana Police Academy in Narsingi. Cyberabad Commissioner of Police Ramesh Reddy clarified that Bageerath was arrested, not surrendered, as had been earlier reported, after the Special Operations Team stopped the car he was travelling in.
He was taken to the Pet Basheerabad Police Station, where he was questioned for nearly two hours and his statement recorded. He was then taken to a primary health centre in Medchal for a medical examination, after which he was produced before the Medchal court. The court remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody till May 29.
Later that night, he was shifted to Cherlapalli Central Prison under heavy police presence.
After his son’s arrest, Union minister Bandi Sanjay, in a post on X, said, “I want to reassure every well-wisher, supporter and karyakarta that there has been no wrongdoing from our side. We have complete faith in the legal process and truth will ultimately prevail.”
Kumar requested everyone to understand that this is a “personal family matter” and they will continue to fight it legally with complete faith in the judiciary and justice system.
This post was last modified on May 17, 2026 5:52 pm