HYDERABAD: Asserting that his government does not indulge in vindictive or discriminatory politics, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said that the law would take its own course in the POCSO case registered against Bandi Sai Bhageerath, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar.
Speaking informally to reporters after reviewing the developments with DGP CV Anand on Monday, the chief minister said that a senior woman IPS officer would be asked to probe the case and record statements in the case.
Later, the police commissioner appointed Deputy Commissioner of Police (Kukatpally Zone) Ritiraj to probe the POCSO case registered against Bhageerath.
Revanth said that the investigation had been delayed by two days as around 10,000 police personnel were engaged in security arrangements for the visiting prime minister.
He said that he would never indulge in vindictive politics or misuse his extraordinary powers as chief minister. “I will ensure systemic governance,” the chief minister said.
He said that an FIR was registered at the Petbasheerabad police station on May 8 based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s mother. “On May 9 and 10, police personnel were occupied with the prime minister’s security arrangements. Before the victim’s mother lodged a complaint, Bandi Sanjay’s son had filed a complaint with the Karimnagar police. Investigations into both cases have begun. Both sides were claiming to be victims and the police would record their statements,” the chief minister added.
Revanth said that the investigation would be carried out by the police and not in the manner demanded by the Opposition BRS. He said that BRS leader RS Praveen Kumar was not a DGP and was only a retired IPS officer.
CM: No one is above law, guilty won’t be spared
“It was the police who registered the FIR, not BRS working president KT Rama Rao or Praveen Kumar,” he said.
Stating that no one was above the law, Revanth said that the police had not spared even the brother-in-law of Rama Rao, who was caught in a drug case. He quipped that Praveen Kumar, who had no official role now, could not investigate the POCSO case. He recalled that Praveen Kumar, who had lodged a complaint with the ECI in the phone-tapping case, later gave a clean chit to accused Prabhakar Rao in the same case. Praveen Kumar, who once claimed that he would destroy the “Gadis of Doras”, now wanted to confer a “Dora Ratna Award” on the same people, he alleged.
“Watch National Geographic or other TV channels to learn how cruel beasts die,” Revanth told reporters. He, however, did not name any politician and left reporters to draw their own conclusions.
Meanwhile, following the registration of the POCSO case against Bhageerath, the Cyberabad Police Commissioner directed senior-level supervision of the investigation into the case registered at the Petbasheerabad police station. In a memo issued on Monday, the Cyberabad Commissioner of Police instructed DCP (Kukatpally) Ritiraj to personally supervise the probe in the case registered under Sections 74 and 75 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), read with Section 12 of the POCSO Act.
The DCP was directed to ensure that the investigation was conducted in a proper, fair and professional manner by examining all relevant aspects of the case without any deviation or negligence.
Later in the day, the DCP held a meeting at Petbasheerabad with the ACP and SHO and reviewed the progress of the case.
Speaking to the media, she said that a detailed action plan had been prepared. She said that the victim’s statement had already been recorded, but more information was required. In this regard, the victim’s statement would be recorded again in greater detail, she added. The police had been gathering details in connection with the case since its registration, she said.