Revanth Reddy, Bandi Sanjay conspired to shield POCSO case accused: KTR

Hyderabad, May 22 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao on Friday alleged that Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy conspired with Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay to save the latter’s son Bandi Bhageerath in the POCSO case.

Addressing a press conference, he said that the crime of shielding a POCSO accused for nine days squarely lies with Revanth Reddy, who is also the home minister.

Rama Rao hit back at the Chief Minister for the remarks made by him at a press conference on Thursday over the case involving Bandi Bhageerath.

KTR, as the BRS leader is popularly known, also blamed the Chief Minister for intimidating the victim’s family, filing a counter-case against them, and shielding the accused for nine days.

He asked if it was not the State government that subjected the minor girl to severe distress—forcing her to stand at the police station until midnight—when she went there with her parents to report the injustice she had suffered.

KTR claimed that the accused was finally arrested—albeit in a desperate, last-resort situation—only after the State High Court categorically refused to grant bail. He added that the Chief Minister should be ashamed for offering such absurd excuses as, "The police were too busy due to the Prime Minister's visit."

"Just because the Prime Minister is visiting, does that mean the close associates with whom Revanth Reddy spent three days in Chanchalguda are free to roam outside and commit crimes with impunity. Does the government have no shame in citing such reasons?” he asked.

KTR stated that, out of sensitivity regarding the young girl involved, their party had maintained silence on the matter and had never sought to politicise it. However, the BRS leader explained that he was compelled to speak on this issue after the Chief Minister levelled criticisms against them.

He demanded that the Chief Minister provide clarity on whether there is any other instance in the country where an accused in a POCSO case was sheltered for nine days.

Rama Rao alleged that it was solely due to the close ties between Union Minister Bandi Sanjay and Revanth Reddy that the two conspired to keep the accused in hiding. He noted that reports are surfacing claiming the accused was sheltered for nine days in a hospital owned by a close associate of the Chief Minister, and he demanded that the government conduct an inquiry into this matter.

KTR challenged both Bandi Sanjay and the Chief Minister to identify the ‘scoundrel’ who orchestrated a conspiracy to file a counter-case—alleging a "honey trap"—against the victim's family, simply because the injustice done to the young girl had come to light.

He demanded an explanation as to how Bandi Sanjay could, on one hand, claim through the courts that he has no connection to his son, yet on the other hand, assert that he himself was the one who handed his son over to the police. KTR asserted that nowhere else in the country could an accused in a POCSO case evade arrest for nine days.

KTR demanded that the media outlets which published baseless reports—specifically alleging a "honey trap"—in connection with this entire POCSO case, as well as the individuals who instigated such reporting, must be held accountable and provide an explanation.

He questioned whether it was not, in fact, true that both Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Union Minister Bandi Sanjay personally telephoned various media offices in an attempt to suppress the publication of these reports.