- The plea was moved before vacation bench of the Telangana High Court and is scheduled to be heard on May 14
- In his plea, Bhagirath Sai denied the allegations and claimed the case stemmed from a "honey-trap"
- Telangana Police officials said the POCSO case and the extortion complaint are being investigated separately
Bhagirath Sai, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and BJP MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, has approached the Telangana High Court seeking interim bail in connection with a POCSO case registered against him by Cyberabad Police.
The plea was moved before the vacation bench of the Telangana High Court and is scheduled to be heard on May 14.
The case was registered at Pet Basheerabad Police Station following allegations made by a minor girl, who accused Bhagirath Sai of harassment and sexual assault.
Based on the complaint and subsequent age verification, Cyberabad Police booked him under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
In his bail petition, Bhagirath Sai denied the allegations and claimed the case stemmed from a "honey-trap and extortion attempt".
According to the petition, he had earlier approached the Karimnagar police, alleging that the girl and her parents were pressuring him to marry her and demanding Rs 5 crore.
He further claimed that when he refused, threats were allegedly made to implicate him in false criminal cases.
Based on his complaint, Karimnagar Town-II Police reportedly registered a separate FIR against the girl and her parents under relevant Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions.
The bail plea also disputes the age claim made in the complaint and argues that the relationship was consensual.
According to the petition, both families were known to each other through social interactions and temple visits.
The defence further claimed that POCSO provisions were invoked by "misrepresenting facts" relating to age.
The petition reportedly includes WhatsApp chats, photographs, prior police complaints and birth-related documents in support of these claims.
Telangana Police officials said the Cyberabad POCSO case and the extortion complaint filed in Karimnagar are being investigated separately.
Meanwhile, the Telangana government has directed police officials to intensify the probe into the allegations.
The Telangana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has also taken cognisance of the matter and is expected to seek a report from the police.
