HYDERABAD: Opining that Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar should answer questions publicly and produce his son before the police, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday termed the conduct of the MoS in the matter “morally wrong”.
Defending the state government’s handling of the POCSO case, the chief minister said that Sanjay should cooperate with the investigation instead of allowing his son to evade questioning.
“There cannot be any exemption for anyone in cases involving crimes against women and minors,” Revanth said while addressing a private programme in Hyderabad. Stressing that crimes against women and minors could not be tolerated, he explained the timeline of the case in detail.
According to the chief minister, the mother of the minor girl lodged a complaint at Pet Basheerabad police station on the night of May 8. Police began the inquiry on May 9 and later added POCSO charges based on the minor girl’s statement.
No special exemptions, five teams working on the case: Revanth
The chief minister said notices were immediately issued on May 11 after the sections were altered. Revanth said Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the state on May 10 and nearly 10,000 police personnel were deployed for security arrangements during the same period. Despite that, the investigation was pursued with the seriousness it deserved, he added.
The chief minister stated that Sanjay’s son had also filed a complaint in Karimnagar and police were examining all complaints carefully before issuing notices after recording the minor girl’s statement. He said if the police had immediately conducted raids with a large deployment of personnel, the government would have faced criticism for overreaction.
Stressing that there were no special exemptions, Revanth said film personalities, political leaders and influential individuals would all be treated equally under the law. He noted that cases involving minor girls could not be handled casually and said the registration of a POCSO case reflected the government’s commitment towards the victim.
“As home minister and chief minister, taking action is my responsibility,” he said, adding that five police teams were working on the investigation.
He said police teams went to Sanjay’s residence to serve notices, but were informed that his son had gone to the house of the MoS’ brother-in-law. Summons were subsequently issued to close relatives as well. Questioning criticism over the POCSO case, Revanth asked whether filing such a case should be viewed as intimidation or as standing by the victim. He asserted that strict punishment would be ensured according to law.
Calling the issue highly sensitive as it concerned children’s futures, the chief minister said even a small mistake could destroy young lives. He also stated that the minor girl reportedly had two birth certificates and police were verifying all related records as part of the investigation.
Revanth said even if there was a delay of one day, no accused person could escape punishment. He also recalled that despite being jailed during the previous BRS regime, he had not acted vindictively against the family of former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao after coming to power.
“We are not running a charity shelter. We are running a government,” the chief minister said, while reiterating that the government would stand “100%” with victims and punish those found guilty.
He added that the complaint related to incidents that allegedly took place before December and that investigating events that occurred four months earlier naturally required time.
Revanth reiterated that the Union minister’s conduct in the matter involving his son was “morally wrong”. He said Sanjay should face the issue courageously, answer questions publicly, produce his son before the police and cooperate with the investigation instead of allowing him to evade questioning.
The chief minister warned that if there was no response to police notices within the stipulated time, police would proceed with strict legal action. The chief minister also made political remarks, saying he did not know what differences existed between Sanjay and the BRS, or what understanding existed between former minister KT Rama Rao and Sanjay. Referring to RS Praveen Kumar, he remarked that the former officer was no longer serving in the police force.
