A court in Hyderabad has granted interim bail to Bandi Sai Bageerath, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, in a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, to appear for his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) examinations.
The Medchal-Malkajgiri court allowed Bageerath’s plea seeking release from judicial custody till June 25, to appear in three examinations at Mahindra University. The court directed the accused to return to custody after completion of the examinations and surrender before the court upon expiry of the interim bail period.
Bageerath has been lodged in Cherlapally Central Prison since his arrest by the Cyberabad Police on May 16. A criminal case was registered against him on May 8 at Petbasheerabad Police Station following a complaint lodged by the mother of a 17-year-old girl.
As per the prosecution, the complainant alleged that Bageerath was in a relationship with her daughter and had subjected her to sexual harassment and sexual assault on the pretext of marriage. The complaint further alleged that private photographs of the minor were circulated on social media, causing severe distress to the girl and allegedly leading to a suicide attempt.
The FIR further alleged that the accused had been harassing the girl for several months and had misbehaved with her at a farmhouse in Moinabad on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
The complainant stated that the two had come into contact through mutual acquaintances and that the accused had allegedly taken advantage of their relationship. The investigating authorities have maintained that the relationship between the two allegedly began several months before the registration of the case.
Bageerath’s family have denied the allegations. Prior to his arrest, he approached the Telangana High Court seeking anticipatory bail and protection from coercive action. His counsel argued that there was uncertainty regarding the complainant’s age and questioned the applicability of the POCSO Act. It was also contended that the relationship between the parties was consensual.
The State and the complainant opposed the plea, maintaining that the girl was a minor at the relevant time and that the allegations disclosed serious offences warranting custodial investigation. After an extended hearing, the High Court declined to grant interim protection from arrest, observing that it was not inclined to interfere at that stage after examining the material placed before it.
Shortly before the complaint was lodged against him, Bageerath had also filed a counter-complaint alleging extortion and criminal intimidation by the girl and her parents. The allegations raised in the counter-complaint are also part of the broader factual matrix being examined by investigators.
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