Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy advised Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar to bring his son before the police and cooperate with the investigation responsibly.

“Morally, his approach is wrong. He should face the issue courageously, bring his son before the police, and cooperate with the investigation instead of avoiding it,” the CM said at a media conclave in Hyderabad on Friday.

He warned that if notices were ignored, police would proceed with stricter legal action, while reiterating that the Congress government stood firmly with victims and would ensure punishment for anyone found guilty under the law.

At the same time, Mr. Reddy defended the State government’s handling of the alleged POCSO case involving Mr. Sanjay Kumar’s son, asserting that the investigation was being conducted strictly according to law without any political bias.

Dismissing the allegations of deliberate delay, he said that the police acted promptly after the complaint was lodged by the mother of the minor girl at Pet Basheerabad police station on May 8 night. The investigation began the very next day and the relevant Sections were altered later based on the progress of the inquiry and the victim’s statement.

The Chief Minister explained that the delay in issuing notices was due to the need for a careful investigation, particularly because the complaint pertained to incidents that allegedly occurred months earlier, before December. “If we had rushed, the same people would have accused us of acting in haste,” he remarked.

Mr. Reddy said that the government had no intention of shielding anyone, be it film personalities, politicians, or influential persons. “If we intended to help the accused, would we have invoked the POCSO Act at all?” he asked.

The Chief Minister said that cases involving minors require extreme caution since even a minor procedural lapse could affect the future of children involved. He also said that the police were examining discrepancies related to the victim’s birth certificate as part of the investigation.

Taking a swipe at political critics, he said that he was unaware of the differences between Mr. Sanjay Kumar and BRS leaders. He also questioned whether invoking the POCSO Act should be viewed as an intimidation or as standing by the victim.