3 min readMay 12, 2026 04:26 PM IST
The Telangana police are looking for BJP MP and Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s son Bandi Sai Bhageerath, who is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl and was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on May 8, the Cyberabad Commissioner of Police has said.
“We have started the manhunt today, and the accused was not found in any of his usual places of being,” Commissioner of Police M Ramesh told The Indian Express.
Bhageerath, meanwhile, moved the Telangana High Court for interim bail in the case. The vacation bench of the court posted the matter for hearing on May 14.
Bhageerath was booked by the Pet Basheerabad police based on a complaint from the girl’s family, alleging that he sexually assaulted her at a farmhouse last year. He was booked under BNS sections pertaining to assault or criminal force with intent to outrage a woman’s modesty and sexual harassment, as well as the POCSO Act.
“Using call data records, we are tracking the accused. We are sure to nab him soon,” Ritiraj, the supervising officer and DCP, Kukatpally, told the media on Tuesday.
On the day that he was booked, Bhageerath had lodged a complaint against the girl for allegedly harassing and blackmailing him. An FIR to this effect was registered by the Karimnagar I Town police.
According to the FIR, Bhageerath claimed to have met the girl through a common friend. He claimed he “went to family functions, gatherings and temple visits with her family on their invitation”. “The family coerced and intimidated me to marry her,” the complaint reads. The girl’s family threatened to file a harassment complaint against him and demanded Rs 5 crore, and Bhageerath paid them Rs 50,000, the complaint reads.
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Bandi Sanjay Kumar has not responded to these allegations. The state’s opposition, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), meanwhile, mounted an attack on the Congress government under Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for “shielding” the accused.
Revanth has asked a senior woman IPS officer to supervise the investigation. On Monday, he said that the officer will follow all measures to arrest the accused. “We will follow the due course of law in this case, just like any other case,” the CM said. The BJP has called the case “politically motivated”.
