3 min readUpdated: May 16, 2026 09:35 PM IST
Telangana Police, on Saturday evening, apprehended and arrested Bandi Sai Bhageerath, the son of Union Minister of State Bandi Sanjay Kumar, in connection with a POCSO case. The arrest comes hours after a Look Out Circular (LoC) was issued against him.
Bhageerath is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl between October and December 2025. The two had allegedly met through mutual friends earlier in June 2025.
“The accused was apprehended at the end of a manhunt at 8.15 pm on Saturday. He was taken to Petbasheerabad police station,” M Ramesh, Cyberabad Commissioner of Police told The Indian Express. Bhageerath will now be sent for medical examination and be produced before a local magistrate in Hyderabad, the commissioner said.
Meanwhile, Bandi Sanjay Kumar issued a statement on Saturday saying it was he who handed over his son to the police. His statement read, “In light of the allegations levelled against my son, Bandi Bhageerath — and out of deep respect for the law — I have today, through our legal counsel, handed him over to the police for interrogation.” He added, “before the law, everyone is equal — whether it be my own child or a common citizen. We must all abide by the law.”
The complaint against Bhageerath was lodged on May 8. Since then, Telangana Police have been on a manhunt to nab him. Bhageerath’s arrest comes a day after Telangana High Court refused to grant him interim protection from arrest.
In the complaint, the girl’s mother alleged that Bhageerath subjected her daughter to repeated sexual abuse and emotional blackmail. According to the complaint, he allegedly isolated her and controlled her educational career decisions.
Police initially booked Bhageerath under charges of assault or using criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty and sexual harassment, along with provisions of the POCSO Act. Later, once the girl’s statement was recorded, the police added the charge of aggravated sexual assault under the POCSO Act.
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The Union Minister, meanwhile, said his son “has been repeatedly asserting that he has committed no wrongdoing”. The minister said that “as soon as the complaint was lodged, I intended to hand him over at the police station immediately. However, we consulted with our lawyers, and he presented the evidence in our possession before them. Upon reviewing the evidence, the lawyers expressed confidence that the case would likely be quashed and that bail would certainly be granted. That is why there was a slight delay.”
On Friday night, the Telangana High Court had refused to give Bhageerath interim protection from arrest.
His counsel, senior advocate S Niranjan Reddy, had argued that the police be directed not to arrest him, adding that stringent conditions may be imposed during the interim period.
However, at the end of the hearing, which lasted over two hours, Justice T Madhavi Devi said, “I have gone through the statement of the victim, though not in detail but cursorily, and at this stage, I’m not inclined to grant any interim order.”
