POCSO case against minister’s son, RSS-BJP rift erupts:Allegation of rape after alcohol, 4 months of threats; Sangh upset over naming

A 17-year-old girl and her friends organized a New Year’s party together. The celebration began on the night of December 31, 2025, at a farmhouse. Along with the minor, there was one girl and 5 boys. Among them was 25-year-old Sai Bhageerath, son of Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar. It is alleged that during the party, Bhageerath pressured the minor to drink alcohol. After that, he started molesting her. Bhageerath was heavily intoxicated. He first touched the girl inappropriately, then began instigating her to get physical. The girl was left alone and couldn’t resist due to helplessness. After the incident, the girl narrated her ordeal to her mother. The family tried to file a complaint, but pressure was put on them not to register a case. Nearly 4 months later, on May 8, a POCSO case was registered against Bhageerath based on the mother’s complaint. Bhageerath has been arrested. After this arrest, attempts were made to drag RSS into the case as well. In response, the Sangh issued a statement saying that this is entirely an internal matter of the BJP and they have nothing to do with it. Victim’s family under 24-hour police surveillance, restrictions on media Pet Basheerabad Police Station is located 15 kilometers away from Hyderabad City. The POCSO case was registered at this very police station. Considering the security, the victim’s family is currently under police surveillance. They are not willing to talk to the media, as there could be a threat. The victim’s relative gave us the number of AIDSO, that is, All India Student Democratic Association. This organization is fighting the victim’s legal battle and staging protests for her. Vaishali, a member of the legal team at AIDSO, gave us legal documents related to the case. This includes the victim’s mother’s statement and important information. In the complaint, the victim’s mother stated, ‘Around June 2025, my daughter met Bhageerath. After that, their friendship grew through Instagram and social media. Bhageerath gave my daughter false assurance of marriage after she became an adult and trapped her in his web. After winning her trust, Bhageerath started emotionally blackmailing her. Not only that, he started imposing restrictions on decisions related to studies and career.’ ‘During the period of contact with Bhageerath, my daughter was taken several times to private apartments and farmhouses, where she faced sexual harassment. Particularly on the night of December 31, 2025, when she was forcibly made to drink alcohol at a farmhouse in Moinabad. Then she was sexually assaulted. After this incident, on January 7, 2026, the accused suddenly broke off the relationship with her. Did the BJP leader know the victim beforehand? The victim’s mother alleged that seeing her daughter’s condition, we contacted the court and lawyers between March and April, then we started receiving threats to withdraw the complaint. On April 21, 2026, during this time, one of Bhageerath’s associates filed a case against us at Nirmal Police Station. It was alleged that my daughter was blackmailing the accused and trying to extort money from him. The victim’s side has stated in point number-8 of their statement that on April 22, 2026, a person named Sangappa met them. A day later, on April 23, he arranged their meeting with Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar. During this meeting, pressure was put on us to compromise. Instead of assuring us of security, we were intimidated and threatened. Government lawyer Nageshwar Rao from the victim’s side informed that on May 16, Cyberabad Police arrested him, which brought relief to the victim’s family. The family has submitted their statement to the police. Based on this, the police are interrogating the accused. He is on police remand till May 29. Now know what Bandi Sanjay and the defense lawyer are saying ‘That girl was my son’s friend first’ On May 12, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar participated in a Hanuman Jayanti rally in Karimnagar. During his speech, he refuted the allegations against his son. Calling it a false conspiracy, he said, ‘You have angered my supporters and put my party in difficulty. You will be consumed by the same fire that you have set yourself.’ We spoke to Bhageerath’s lawyer Karunasagar to know his side in this matter. According to him, all the allegations of the victim’s mother seem fabricated. She has framed the story in such a way that it appears someone has done this deliberately or for political gain. Karunasagar further says, ‘Telangana Police is making false claims of arresting Sai Bhageerath. Whereas on the instructions of Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar, I and Senior Advocate Anthony Reddy ourselves handed over Bhageerath to the police near the Tech Park at Cyberabad Police Station.’ ‘Police are investigating according to BNS and POCSO Act. We have handed over all necessary information related to Bhageerath and the phone to the police.’ Telangana RSS distances itself from BJP after POCSO case In 2024, during the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple, RSS and BJP jointly ran the ‘Akshat Distribution’ campaign in Telangana. Before the Lok Sabha elections, the Sangh conducted door-to-door campaigning at booth level. BJP benefited from this, winning a record 8 seats in the state. In 2019, the party had won only 4 seats. Now after the POCSO case against Bhageerath, RSS has distanced itself from the matter. Telangana’s Prant Pracharaka Katta Rajgopal says, ‘Some officials of the Sangh have also been dragged into this matter. Our Prant Sangchalak Barla Sundar Reddy has strongly objected to this. He has stated in clear terms that RSS has nothing to do with this controversy. If anyone tries to tarnish the image of the Sangh by linking our officials to this, we will take legal action against them.’ What Telangana Police is saying Police said- Bhageerath did not surrender, we caught him Telangana Police issued a notice on May 12 after registering a case against Bhageerath at Pet Basheerabad Police Station. In this, the police stated that after recording the victim’s statement, changes were made to the sections that were initially registered. The notice asked Bhageerath to appear for questioning at Pet Basheerabad Police Station at 2 PM on May 13, but he did not appear. Instead, Bhageerath wrote a letter to the police stating that he would appear with sufficient evidence and present his arguments. However, Kukatpally Deputy Commissioner IPS Ritiraj says, ‘Bhageerath did not surrender before the police, but was arrested by a police officer on May 16.’