More than a week after Bandi Bageerath was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl, the Cyberabad police are reconstructing the sequence of events described by the victim, while simultaneously expanding search operations to trace the absconding accused, who is the son of Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar.
The accused failed to appear before the Petbasheerabad police for the second time on Friday after seeking a two-day extension following his failure to appear before investigators on May 13 despite the issuance of a notice.
Investigators are currently verifying evidence across multiple locations, including a farmhouse in Moinabad where the victim alleged she was sexually assaulted on New Year’s eve.
“Our teams are collecting booking details, CCTV footage, digital and payment trails from hotels and farmhouses and establishing whether the accused and the victim were present at the locations at the times mentioned in the statement. The effort is to corroborate the sequence of events with documentary evidence before proceeding with further action,” a senior official close to the investigation said.
Officials said tracing the accused has become challenging as he has remained largely “off grid”, while delays in obtaining IP logs linked to his online activity have further slowed efforts to pinpoint his location.
According to investigators, the accused had sent an email to the police seeking an extension in response to the summons issued to him. Police first verified the authenticity of the communication before approaching Google and other service providers for IP-related information and digital trail details to trace his location. “The data has to be furnished by the concerned corporations and that process is taking time,” the official said.
Meanwhile, a fresh team was sent to Karimnagar on Friday based on the latest location inputs developed during the investigation.
A key breakthrough in the investigation so far has been the conclusive establishment that the victim was a minor. “Under the Juvenile Justice Act, municipal birth records and matriculation certificates are treated as valid proof of age, and as per both records she is a minor,” the official said.
Social media accounts
Meanwhile, the Cyberabad police have initiated legal action against multiple social media accounts accused of circulating photographs, videos and identifying details of the minor victim and her parents in violation of provisions of the POCSO Act and the Juvenile Justice Act.
Based on a complaint lodged by the Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, Medchal-Malkajgiri district, the Petbasheerabad police registered a separate case under Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act, Section 72(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 23 of the POCSO Act.
Police said several Instagram and Facebook accounts involved in circulating the material had been identified and the relevant URLs forwarded to the authorities concerned to trace the handlers behind the accounts.
Officials said further cases had also been booked against social media users accused of publishing photographs, videos and other identifying information related to the victim and her family. “We will ensure that the individuals behind these handles are traced and proceeded against strictly,” the official said.
