Bandi Sai Bhagirat, son of Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay, was arrested in Hyderabad on Saturday, a day after the Telangana High Court refused to grant him immediate relief from arrest in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) case.
Bhagirath was arrested in Narsingi late in the evening, Cyberabad Police Commissioner Ramesh Reddy said in a statement. “Bhagirat will be taken to Bait Bashirabad police station and produced in court later,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Cyberabad Police issued a circular against Bhagirath and police teams conducted searches across the country to trace him. Bhagirat, along with his supporters, surrendered to investigating officers at Bait-Bashirabad police station in the evening, people familiar with the matter said.
“After due interrogation and medical examination, he will be produced before a local court in Madchal,” a police officer said.
In a statement, the Union Minister asked his son to appear before the police and join the investigation. “I have handed over my son Sai Bhagirath to the police for investigation through lawyers regarding the allegations leveled against him,” he said.
“After due interrogation and medical examination, he will be produced before a local court in Madchal,” a police official said.
Sanjay said in the statement that he respects the law and the judicial system. Everyone is equal before the law, regardless of their status or relationship. “I also said earlier that whether it is my son or an ordinary citizen, everyone is equal before the law. We must all abide by the law,” he said.
The Union Minister said that his son repeatedly maintained that he had not committed any wrongdoing. Immediately after filing the complaint, he initially thought of bringing Bhagirat directly to the police station.
He added: “However, after consulting the legal advisor, the available evidence was presented to the lawyers, who expressed confidence that the case would be dismissed and bail would be granted without difficulty.”
Sanjay attributed the delay in appearing before investigators to legal consultations, and said that so far, lawyers are confident of securing bail. He added: “But I felt it was not right to postpone any longer. With my respect for the law and the judicial system, I brought my son and handed him over to the police through lawyers to investigate him.”
The union minister also said that although the court orders were expected to be issued on Monday, he did not want any further delay in the matter and therefore decided to send his son for investigation immediately, expressing full confidence in the judiciary.
Earlier, a leave bench of the Supreme Court, T Madhavi Devi, which heard arguments till Friday midnight, refused to provide interim protection from arrest and stated that no interim orders could be issued at the current stage.
The judge reserved her orders on Bhagirat’s anticipatory bail petition and announced that the judgment would be delivered on May 21.
During the hearing, senior advocate S Niranjan Reddy, representing Bhagirath, urged the court to grant protection from arrest at least till the anticipatory bail application is decided. He emphasized that the petitioner was willing to cooperate fully with the police investigation. However, the authority clarified that it is not inclined to issue any interim directives at this stage.
Niranjan Reddy confirmed that the complaint filed by the girl’s parents at Bait Bashirabad police station was filed only after obtaining extensive legal advice. A close reading of the complaint did not reveal any allegations that constitute penetrative sexual assault under the POCSO Act, he said.
After hearing arguments from all parties, Justice Madhavi Devi reserved her judgement and refused to grant any interim relief to Bhagirat.
