Union minister’s son surrenders, arrested in Telangana POCSO case

BAndi Sai Bhageerath, boy of the unification government minister of say for place affairs, was arrested in Hyderabad on Saturday, a day after the Telangana high court declined to grant him immediate relief from arrest in Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case.Cyberabad police commissioner Ramesh Reddy, in a statement, said Bhageerath was arrested at Narsingi late in the evening. “Bhageerath would be taken to Pet Basheerabad police station and produced in court later,” he added.Earlier in the day, the Cyberabad police had issued a lookout circular against Bageerath, and police teams conducted searches across the country to trace him. People familiar with the matter said Bhageerath, along with his advocates, surrendered to the investigating officers at the Pet-Basheerabad police station in the evening.“After due questioning and medical examination, he would be produced before a local court in Medchal,” a police officer said.Minister says son handed over for investigationThe Union minister, in a statement, had asked his son to appear before the police and join the probe. “I have handed over my son, Sai Bhageerath, to the police for investigation through advocates in connection with the allegations levelled against him,” he said.“After due questioning and medical examination, he would be produced before a local court in Medchal,” a police official said.In the statement, the minister said he respected the law and the judicial system. Everyone was equal before the law, irrespective of status or relationship. “I have said earlier as well that whether it is my son or an ordinary citizen, everyone is equal before the law. All of us must abide by the law,” he said.The union minister said his son had been repeatedly maintaining that he had committed no wrongdoing. Immediately after the complaint was lodged, he had initially considered producing Bhageerath before the police station directly.“However, after consulting legal counsel, the available evidence was presented before the lawyers, who reportedly expressed confidence that the case would be dismissed and that bail would be granted without difficulty,” he said.Minister cites legal consultations for delayThe Union minister attributed the delay in appearing before the investigators to the legal consultations and said that even now the lawyers were confident of securing bail. “However, I felt it was not right to delay any further. With respect for the law and the judicial system, I brought my son and handed him over to the police through lawyers for investigation,” he said.The union minister further said that although court orders were expected on Monday, he did not want any further delay in the matter and therefore decided to send his son for investigation immediately, expressing complete faith in the judiciary. HC refuses interim protection from arrestEarlier, a vacation bench of the high court Justice T Madhavi Devi, which heard the arguments till midnight on Friday, refused to provide interim protection from arrest and stated that no temporary orders could be passed at the present stage.The judge reserved her orders on the anticipatory bail petition filed by Bhageerath and announced that the verdict would be delivered on May 21.During the hearing, senior advocate S Niranjan Reddy, appearing for Bhageerath, urged the court to grant protection from arrest at least until the anticipatory bail petition was decided. He submitted that the petitioner was willing to cooperate fully with the police investigation. However, the bench made it clear that it was not inclined to issue any interim directions at this stage.Niranjan Reddy contended that the complaint lodged by the girl’s parents at the Pet Basheerabad police station was filed only after obtaining extensive legal advice. He argued that a close reading of the complaint did not disclose any allegations constituting penetrative sexual assault under the POCSO Act.After hearing arguments from all parties, Justice Madhavi Devi reserved her verdict, refusing to grant any interim relief to Bhageerath.