DCP Riti Raj to head special team probing POCSO case against Bandi Sanjay’s son in Hyderabad

Telangana government has constituted a special team led by IPS officer Riti Raj to probe the POCSO case against Sai Bageerath, son of Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar, following criticism over delay in action

Hyderabad: Some 72 hours after the registration of a POCSO case against Union Minister Bandi Sanjay’s son Sai Bageerath, Telangana government initiated some action in respect of forming a special team to probe the allegation. Even this came after a purported nudge from the Chief Minister who was stated to have enquired from the State police chief about the case. Hours later, it was announced that an IPS officer Riti Raj, currently serving as DCP of Kukatpally zone, would head the probe team.

The government was apparently worried about the mounting public criticism of the inaction followed by a strident onslaught from the BRS, and swung into action with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directing the State police to form a special team to take up investigation into the case.

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Despite the case of sexual exploitation of a minor girl being registered on May 8 in Petbasheerabad police station, this was the first ever official acknowledgement of such a case being registered in Petbasheerabad police station in Cyberabad Commissionerate.

Till then, neither did the CM nor the Police Department utter a single word about the case, raising suspicions of the inaction being ensured to help the accused person in view of the political equations.

Monday’s statement from the CMO said the Chief Minister questioned the DGP as to why no action was taken even after an FIR was registered. The DGP was stated to have told the Chief Minister that the entire police force was occupied with the security arrangements in light of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Hyderabad.

Interestingly, former IPS officer and BRS leader RS Praveen Kumar had on Sunday made a pointed request to the State police to depute any of the senior IPS officers who was not involved with the PM security arrangements to probe the case. On Monday, Praveen Kumar demanded that the police issue a lookout notice against Bandi Sai Bageerath and sought inclusion of accused person’s father Bandi Sanjay and BJP worker Sangappa in the case. He alleged that Sangappa was instrumental in Bandi Sanjay’s efforts to strike a compromise with the girl’s family.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State unit sought to distance itself from the explosive case saying it was a ‘family issue’ and that it was no way connected to the party. Responding to a query, BJP State president N Ramchander Rao said Bandi Sanjay happened to be the Union Minister and if there was any involvement of his son, the police would investigate it.

The BRS, in the meantime, continued to mount pressure on the government with petitions being submitted to the Telangana State Commission for Women and Telangana Commission for Protection of Child Rights.