Telangana HC to hear petition challenging Bandi Sanjay’s remand

Telangana High Court on Thursday challenging the judicial remand of state BJP chief and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

Hyderabad: A lunch motion petition was filed in Telangana High Court on Thursday challenging the judicial remand of state BJP chief and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar in 10th class question paper leak case.

A day after a court in Warangal district sent Bandi Sanjay to judicial custody for 14 days, his lawyers filed a lunch motion petition in the High Court and prayed for an immediate hearing.

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Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has agreed to hear the lunch motion petition.

Warangal police have named Bandi Sanjay as the main accused in the leak of Hindi question paper of Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam from an exam centre at Kamlapur in Warangal district on Tuesday.

The Karimnagar MP was arrested amid high-drama from his in-laws’ house in Karimnagar on Tuesday night. This triggered protests by the BJP, which termed the arrest illegal.

After the arrest, Bandi Sanjay was taken to a police station in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district and then brought to Warangal in the evening. Since Wednesday was a holiday for courts, he was produced at the residence of the First Class Magistrate in Hanamkonda on Wednesday evening. After hearing both sides, the magistrate remanded him to judicial custody till April 19.

Bandi Sanjay was shifted to Karimnagar jail on Wednesday night.

Police alleged that Bandi Sanjay hatched a plan with other accused to leak the 10th class question paper.

Out of total 10 accused in the case, police have arrested five accused and served notice to a juvenile, a 10th class student.

Bandi Sanjay, Boora Prashanth, Gundaboina Mahesh and Moutam Shiva Ganesh have been arrested.

Pogu Subash, Pogu Shashank, Dhoolam Srikanth, Perumandla Shramik and Pothanaboina Varsith are absconding.

They have been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 505 (circulating any report or statement with an intent to cause alarm to the public)

Police have also invoked sections 4 (A), 6 of TS Public Examinations (Prevention of Malpractices) Act and 66-D of Information Technology Act.

Warangal Police Commissioner A. V. Ranganath told media persons on Wednesday that Bandi Sanjay refused to give his mobile phone to police and deleted a lot of data. “If he is innocent, why is he hiding the phone,” Ranganath asked.

The commissioner said they would retrieve the call and chat data even if it was deleted. “We will approach WhatsApp and phone service provider to retrieve the data,” he said.

The police chief said this was part of a conspiracy to bring the government to disrepute and to dilute the examination system.