Cyberabad Police tighten probe, likely to seek Bageerath’s custody

While Cyberabad Police remained tight-lipped on further developments in the POCSO Act case involving Bandi Bageerath, citing that details of an ongoing investigation involving a minor could not be disclosed, officials were learnt to be preparing a petition seeking police custody of the accused for further questioning.

An official release issued by Cyberabad Police late on Saturday night stated that Mr. Bageerath had admitted to committing the offence during preliminary questioning following his arrest. However, investigators declined to disclose further details, citing the sensitive nature of the case.

Mr. Bageerath was arrested by Cyberabad Police on Saturday night, nearly a week after a case was registered against him at the Petbasheerabad police station following a complaint lodged by the mother of a 17-year-old girl. He was apprehended from TGPA Junction at around 8 p.m. and shifted to the police station for legal formalities and questioning.

He was later produced before a court, which remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody. He was subsequently lodged at Cherlapalli Central Prison.

The arrest had come a day after the Telangana High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea, following which Cyberabad police intensified efforts to trace him by deploying five special teams, conducting searches at locations linked to him in Hyderabad and Karimnagar, and issuing a lookout circular to prevent him from leaving the country.

Charminar police probe High Court smear campaign complaint

Amid the developments in the case, the High Court of Telangana lodged a complaint with the Charminar Police Station over what it described as a fabricated social media campaign targeting a senior vacation judge who had heard Mr. Bageerath’s anticipatory bail plea.

In a letter dated May 15, the High Court sought registration of a case and investigation into social media posts alleging attempts to influence Justice Tangirala Madhavi Devi in connection with the bail proceedings. The court said the circulation of the allegedly false claims had the potential to tarnish the image of the judiciary and undermine public confidence in the judicial process.

Police were now expected to move a custody petition before the court to secure Mr. Bageerath’s presence for further interrogation as part of the ongoing investigation.