HC adjourns hearing on Bandi's bail plea

The Telangana High Court on Thursday adjourned to Friday the hearing on the petition of Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar's son Bandi Bhageerath for interim bail in a POCSO case.

The single-judge bench, after hearing the arguments of both sides, posted for Friday the orders on the interim bail.

Justice Madhavi Devi said the court would hear next week the arguments on the anticipatory bail but orders on interim bail will be pronounced on Friday.

Bhageerath's counsel Niranjan Reddy pleaded for striking down the POSCO case, saying that the girl is not a minor.

He cited the discrepancies in the records about the victim's age.

The judge ordered a verification of records to determine the victim's age.

A case under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered against Bhageerath on May 8 at Pet Basheerabad Police Station for alleged se3ual assault on a 17-year-old girl.

On a complaint by the victim that Bhageerath sexually assaulted her at a farmhouse in Moinabad, the police registered a case under Section 11 read with Section 12 of POCSO Act and Sections 74 and 75 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The alleged accused also lodged a counter-complaint in Karimnagar, alleging that the girl's family attempted to extort Rs 5 crore by threatening to implicate him in a false case.

On Monday, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed the State Director General of Police C.V. Anand to initiate the investigation in the case.

The same day Deputy Commissioner of Police Ritiraj was appointed to supervise the investigation. She spoke to the victim on May 12 to gather more details.

Subsequently, police invoked harsher provisions of the POCSO Act.

Section 5 (1) read with Section 6 was added to the FIR. The Section deals with aggravated penetrative sexual assault and caries a punishment that may extend up to 20 years imprisonment or more.

Bhageerath failed to appear before the police on Wednesday despite a notice being served to him.

Pet Basheerabad police reportedly sent a second notice to Bhageerath's uncle in Karimnagar as it was the last identified location of his mobile phone.

Bhageerath on Wednesday sent a letter to Station House Officer of Pet Basheerabad Police Station, seeking two days' time to appear before him.