Hyderabad: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union minister of state for home Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s son Bandi Sai Bhageerath was taken into custody by police in Hyderabad on Saturday evening (May 16) in what has turned out to be a high profile case following the booking of charges against the latter under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.Earlier on Friday (May 15) , the Telangana high court had denied interim protection from arrest to Bhageerath.Union minister Kumar issued a statement soon after, claiming that his son had “surrendered” at Pet Basheerabad police station where the case was booked. Beginning the release with the words “Satyamev jayathe”, he said “I sent my son to face investigation to avoid further delay out of respect for law. This was in spite of the likelihood of the court delivering its judgement in the bail application (of Bhageerath) on Monday (May 18).Contrary to the claim of the minister, Cyberabad police commissioner M. Ramesh Reddy told reporters that Bhageerath was arrested near the State Police Academy at Narsingi. He was shifted to Pet Basheerabad police station en route to the magistrate’s house.Union minister Kumar’s statement went on to say that he kept his word of treating his son like any other person before law. “All of us have to abide by law. My son has been repeatedly telling me that he did no wrong. In fact, I wanted to surrender him at the police station as soon as the complaint was received against him. We consulted lawyers and presented all evidence before them. On perusal, they told me that the case will not stand legal scrutiny and that my son will get bail. That is the reason why there was some delay,” said Kumar.“Even today, the lawyers were telling that he will get bail. But I felt it was not fair to delay investigation further. So, I brought my son and sent him to the police, escorted by lawyers. I have complete faith in law,” he added.It may be recalled that Bhageerath had offered to surrender to police on Saturday following a notice served on his uncle Dr Vamshichand at Karimnagar on Thursday (May 14). The police sought his presence at 2pm on Friday but he reportedly sent a mail and a letter to Pet Basheerabad police station seeking two days to gather evidence in the case. But the police denied eitther receiving the mail or the letter.The surrender of Bageerath follows Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy’s strong comments finding fault with Union minister Kumar at a media conclave on Friday. He said it was morally incorrect for the Minister to hide his son. It was not right on the part of Bhageerath to run away when criminal charges surfaced against him, said Reddy.“Sanjay is on the wrong side of law if he continues to shield his son. You make him surrender immediately to enhance the dignity of your office. People will appreciate you if he faces enquiry”, CM Reddy had said and warned that the police will act in their own way if there was delay. Reddy also promised to stand by the victim girl.Rebutting criticism that the government was not acting, Reddy retorted whether the government ought to have arrested the father for his son’s wrong doing. The case concerns the future of children. The government had to tread a cautious path, the chief minister had said.Going into the antecedents of the case, Reddy said it originated prior to December 31 last year. The police had to gather key evidence in the midst of allegations that the girl was an adult and had two birth certificates. It took 24 hours to gather details of her birth from the hospital where her mother was admitted. Also, the Aadhaar details were obtained, he said.“Without following all these steps, we will be accused of doing politics to aid a Union Minister out of helplessness,” said Reddy.CM Reddy also denied acting with vengeance against anyone. “Am I taking revenge against KCR (former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao) who put me behind bars?” he said.Reddy also said the complaint from the victim’s mother was received on May 8. The police recorded the girl’s statement on the same day but booked the First Information Report (FIR) the next day. There was no delay anywhere. However, two hours earlier, Bhageerath filed a separate complaint of “honey trap” by the victim’s family at Karimnagar. Both cases were registered before the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Hyderabad for a BJP rally.“However, Bhageerath fled as soon as the statement of the girl was recorded at the police station. We would have been accused of political witch hunt if police went to Sanjay’s house without recording the statement. The police served a proper notice on Bhageerath after the visit of Modi but he did not turn up,” said Reddy.Defending the police, Reddy said about 9,000 uniformed men were drafted for security to Modi’s visit. The entire police machinery was focussed on his visit because Hyderabad had emerged sensitive to terrorist activities across the country. The city was found to have some connect or other with ISI operations anywhere in the country.“Post Modi visit, we paid special attention to the case on Monday by appointing a woman IPS officer as investigating officer. Five teams were despatched to trace out Bhageerath. Lookout notices were also issued to ensure he did not fee the country”.On Saturday, the police searched the houses of Union minister Kumar at Banjara Hills and Karimnagar. The minister’s mother was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad for chest pain that required planting a stent.Meanwhile, a civil court at Hyderabad has issued an ad-interim injunction to twenty-three news channels and media platforms on a defamation petition filed by Union minister Kumar for allegedly running a smear campaign against him. The order was served to online and social media platforms, television channels, websites and other media who were instructed to immediately take down, delete and permanently remove all defamatory videos, clips, interviews, press meet recordings, statements, social media posts and any other content uploaded and circulated by them.A statement of the Minister’s office warned that it was a “Jon Doe Order” that also applied to Facebook, Instagram, X, Youtube, Whatsapp and other social media platforms that were not specifically arraigned in the defamation petition OS No. 208/2026 filed in the court of Vacation Civil Judge-cum-XXVI additional chief judge at City Civil Court, Hyderabad, on Saturday.The twenty-three parties to the gag order included Google, Meta Platforms INC, X Corp and popular Telugu news channels.