Published May 13, 2026 | 11:17 AM ⚊ Updated May 13, 2026 | 11:40 AM
A poster seeking to find Bandi Sai Bhageerath pasted on a wall in Hyderabad.
Synopsis: Unidentified people plastered posters across Telangana, stating that Bandi Sai Bhageerath, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who is accused of sexual exploitation of a minor, is absconding. The posters request people to pass on any information about his whereabouts to the nearest police station.
Following the Telangana Police’s failure to arrest Bandi Sai Bhageerath, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who is accused of a sustained pattern of “grooming, emotional manipulation and sexual exploitation” of a minor since June 2025, unidentified people plastered posters across the state on Wednesday, 13 May, stating that he is absconding.
The posters request people to pass on any information about his whereabouts to the nearest police station.
Further, a campaign was also started in the Hyderabad Metro with posters and announcements that the son of Union Minister Bandi Sanjay is missing.
“An appeal to the residents of Hyderabad: If you spot him, please dial 100 and inform the police,” said the metro announcement.
On Tuesday, investigators had upgraded the charges to some of the most serious offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Telangana government issued a notice summoning him for questioning.
Bandi Sanjay Kumar approached the Telangana High Court on Tuesday seeking interim bail for his son, even as the police had said on Monday that they were unable to locate Bhageerath.
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The Pet Basheerabad police in the outskirts of Hyderabad on 8 May, registered an FIR against Bhageerath (FIR No 684/2026) under Sections 74/75 of BNS and Section 11 read with 12 of the POCSO Act. As is required under the POCSO Act, the Inspector of Pet Basheerabad station filed a report before the IX Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate, Cyberabad, at Medchal.
According to the facts of the case, submitted by Inspector K Vijayavardhan to the court, the complainant (minor girl’s mother) mentioned a sustained pattern of “grooming, emotional manipulation and sexual exploitation” since June, 2025.
The accused, on false promise of marriage and by gaining psychological control of the minor to isolate her, subjected her to repeated physical and sexual abuse at various locations, mostly farmhouses, on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The complainant named specific apartments and farmhouses where the alleged exploitation took place.
The Station House officer also submitted to the court the four-page complaint given by the girl’s mother, which has a detailed account of what exactly transpired during the course of the relationship between Bhagirath and the minor girl.
Later, on Tuesday, the charges were altered to Section 5(I) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act. Invoking Section 5 revises the charges from sexual harassment to aggravated penetrative sexual assault.
Section 5(I) of POSCO refers to penetrative sexual assault causing survivors hurt or causing bodily harm and injury or injury to the sexual organs of the child.
Section 6 prescribes the punishment: a minimum of 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment, extendable to life imprisonment, meaning the remainder of the convict’s natural life, or death, along with a fine paid to the survivor for medical expenses and rehabilitation.
