BRS Slams Delay In POCSO Case Against Bandi Sanjay's Son

Reports have emerged regarding the registration of a POCSO case against the son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay in connection with an incident where a 17-year-old girl was allegedly forced to consume alcohol and sexually assaulted.

Bandi Sanjay's son Sai Bhageerath allegedly forcibly administered alcohol to the girl in question before subjecting her to sexual assault.

Speaking on this matter, addressing media persons at Telangana Bhavan, BRS General Secretary R S Praveen Kumar today questioned the "inordinate delay" in registering the POCSO case against Sanjay's son.

"Who are they trying to fool by claiming that Bandi Sanjay's son would be intimidated by a 17-year-old girl? He has been involved in altercations at Mahindra University on the scale of a Nayak, Khalnayak or Dabangg character; in fact, two FIRs were previously registered against him for assaulting students at the university. Is it conceivable that someone like that - with such a track record - would be afraid of a 17-year-old minor girl?" Kumar asked.

He alleged that a journalist - formerly employed at V6 and a recent entrant into the BJP - was acting as an intermediary in the case involving Sanjay's son. He claimed that at 10 pm on Friday night, while the girl's parents were present at a police station, the same V6 journalist attempted to mediate a settlement, urging them to drop the case. Kumar also alleged that, at Sanjay's instigation, a counter-case was filed against the girl in April.

He also accused Sanjay's son of making a baseless and malicious claim in the FIR - without providing a shred of evidence to substantiate it - that he had given Rs 50,000 to the girl's family. The BRS leader said that the cases filed against Sanjay's son carried a potential prison sentence of merely two or three years - specifically citing sections 74 and 75 of the BNS, and sections 11 and 12 of the POCSO Act - implying that these were offenses for which station bail was readily obtainable.

He sarcastically said that, in filing cases under those sections, the authorities effectively conveyed that Sai Bhageerath had committed only a minor transgression and that he could be granted station bail, and that he was free to ruin the lives of as many girls as he pleased.