Hyderabad: Hours before Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s son, Sai Bhageerath, moved the Telangana high court seeking bail, the Cyberabad Police altered the charges against him, invoking harsher provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in an alleged case of sexual assault involving a minor girl.A notice was served to his maternal uncle in Karimnagar, directing Bhageerath to appear before investigators. Earlier, based on the complaint filed by the survivor’s mother, Petbasheerabad police had registered a case under Sections 74 and 75 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with Section 11 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. These provisions carry a punishment of up to three years imprisonment or a fine.However, investigators later altered the charges after recording the survivor’s statement. Police said the case was altered to Section 5(i) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act, which deals with aggravated penetrative sexual assault and carries a punishment that may extend up to 20 years imprisonment or more, depending on the severity of the offence, the police said.According to officials, the change in sections was made on Monday night after assessing the survivor’s statement given at the time of lodging the complaint on Friday. The revised charges were subsequently communicated to the concerned court on Tuesday.Cyberabad police top brass appointed DCP (Kukatpally Zone) Ritiraj as the supervising officer for the investigation. The officer spoke with the survivor and her mother on Tuesday as part of the ongoing inquiry.Bhageerath has been directed to appear before the investigating officer at 2 pm on Wednesday, with police warning that failure to comply with the notice will invite legal action.As per the complaint, the minor girl alleged that Bhageerath sexually assaulted her during a visit to a farmhouse in Moinabad, claiming he had promised to marry her. In a parallel development, the accused has also lodged a counter-complaint alleging that the survivor’s family attempted to extort Rs 5 crore by threatening to implicate him in a false case.
