Published May 10, 2026 | 8:57 PM ⚊ Updated May 10, 2026 | 8:57 PM
Bandi Sanjay (L) seen sharing a stage with PM Modi in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Synopsis: Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay looked unfazed by the complaint of sexual harassment filed against his son, Bhageerath. On Sunday, he actively participated in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s programmes, besides delivering a speech on dharma, and declaring that he is no farmhouse rat.
Two days after a case under sections dealing with sexual harassment in the POCSO Act was filed against his son, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay stood alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s programmes in Hyderabad on Sunday, 10 May.
Bandi Sanjay was seen with the Prime Minister during the reception accorded to him at the airport, the HICC inauguration, and the rally at Parade Grounds.
The case against his son, Bandi Sai Bhageerath, did not deter the Union Minister from delivering a speech on dharma, the pride in carrying the BJP’s flag, and his vow to hold his head high.
The Pet Basheerabad police had registered an FIR against Bhageerath on 8 May, under
Section 74 (Assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 75 (Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Sections 11 (Sexual harassment) and 12 (Punishment for sexual harassment) of the POSCO Act have also been invoked against Bhageerath.
The FIR was based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl. The complaint detailed a sustained pattern of grooming, emotional manipulation and repeated sexual assault at multiple farmhouses and apartments in Hyderabad between June 2025 and January 2026.
Related: ‘Groomed, exploited by son; pressured by Bandi Sanjay’
Bandi Sanjay took the stage at Parade Grounds on Sunday evening before a large gathering and delivered a speech built on the language of sacrifice, grassroots struggle and political defiance.
He commences the speech by recalling his origins.
“My journey began as a selfless volunteer and as an ABVP activist. As long as I have breath in me, I will not let this party’s flag fall to the ground. No matter how many hardships come my way, I will keep my head held high, but I will never bow my head,” he said.
He drew a sharp distinction between himself and leaders who inherited political positions.
“I am no farmhouse rat. I repeat, I am no farmhouse rat,” he said in an apparent oblique reference to BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao.
“I did not enter politics by merely invoking my father’s name. I did not enter politics by merely invoking my grandfather’s name. I did not enter politics simply by hoisting a flag handed down to me,” he told the crowd.
“Instead, I entered the political arena as a common karyakarta, shouldering the saffron flag, the flag of the lotus, upon my very shoulders. I began my journey as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak, an ABVP activist, a Yuva Morcha worker, a disciple of Narendra Modi, and a dedicated member of the Bharatiya Janata Party,” he said.
He addressed his supporters directly.
“Trust me, brothers. Do not fall for false propaganda. Stand by our side. There is absolutely no question of giving up now,” he said.
He closed by linking the Prime Minister’s visit to a call for Telangana’s development on what he described as the foundations of dharma and true progress, and led the crowd in chanting Jai Shri Ram.
“I vow that I will never, on any day, engage in any act that disgraces the party,” he said before stepping off the stage.
Related: POCSO case against MoS Home and BJP leader Bandi Sanjay’s son
According to the complaint submitted by the Inspector of Pet Basheerabad police before the IX Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate at Medchal, Bhageerath had approached the minor girl through mutual contacts around June 2025, built trust through social media platforms, including Instagram and Snapchat, and induced her into a relationship through false promises of marriage.
The complaint detailed specific incidents. On 13 November 2025, the girl was taken to Lux Charan farm stay at Moinabad. On 5 December, she was taken to Golf View apartments at Nanakramguda, where she was kept for two to three days despite her resistance.
On the intervening night of 31 December 2025 and 1 January 2026, an allegedly intoxicated Bhageerath entered the minor girl’s room at Ananya Farms in Moinabad and subjected her to sexual assault, the complaint said.
After Bhageerath ended the relationship abruptly on 7 January 2026, the girl attempted self-harm on 19 January and again on 25 January.
Related: Not a peep by Telugu media or Congress in Telangana
The complaint raised a charge that went beyond Bhageerath.
The survivor’s mother said that a man, Sangappa, claiming association with influential persons, facilitated a meeting with Bandi Sanjay on 23 April 2026. At that meeting, the mother stated, the family faced indirect pressure to compromise and was advised to sign documents at the Nirmal police station.
“The statements made during the above meeting caused fear, intimidation and apprehension, considering the minor status of my daughter,” the mother said in her complaint.
Bandi Sanjay has denied wrongdoing. On Saturday night, he posted on social media that he had “always respected the law and abided by the Constitution” and called the allegations a “political hit job”, timed to coincide with the Prime Minister’s visit.
“Dragging children and family members into political battles only reflects the desperation of those who lack the courage to fight me politically,” he wrote.
“Some forces are unable to digest the rise of a BC leader who came from the grassroots level, served as a Corporator, and rose step by step to become a Union Minister through hard work and public support,” he added.
He closed his statement with “Satyameva Jayate.”
Before the Pet Basheerabad FIR came through, Bhageerath filed a counter-complaint at the Two Town police station in Karimnagar, his native place. He alleged that the girl’s family tried to extort ₹5 crore from him. An FIR was registered there as well.
By filing the complaint, Bhageerath acknowledged his relationship with the girl, describing it as “friendly”, and stated that they both had visited religious places and family functions together.
He claimed the family turned hostile after he had refused to marry her.
BRS leader and former IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar, who held a press conference on Saturday, rejected the extortion claim. He noted that the girl’s family arrived at the police station in a Toyota Fortuner and that her father owns a Mercedes-Benz, arguing that the family had no financial motive to fabricate a complaint.
Praveen Kumar also alleged that the girl’s mother had waited eight hours at Pet Basheerabad police station before officers recorded her complaint, and that the FIR was registered only after she threatened to protest at the Prime Minister rally on Sunday.
He further alleged that the FIR was registered under weaker sections of BNS and POCSO, which would entitle the accused to station bail.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
