Police arrested Bageerath, he did not surrender: Telangana CM

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy clarified that in the case filed by POCSO against Bandi Bageerath, the police arrested him as per procedure and he did not surrender as claimed.

If Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar had voluntarily handed over his son to the police, the authorities could have completed the process at his home. The Prime Minister, who is also the Home Minister, said police arrested Bageerath while searching for him.

Addressing a press conference held at the State Secretariat in Hyderabad on Thursday, May 21, 2026, the Prime Minister said that notices have been sent to the concerned persons and an investigation is being conducted in the case involving Bageerath.

Mr. Reddy accused the Opposition parties, especially the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), of indulging in “despicable politics” on sensitive issues, including the POCSO case and farmers’ concerns, and maintained that the police strictly followed legal procedures in all investigations.

He alleged that BRS leaders were behaving “like sadists” as if they had achieved anything significant in the POCSO case. “If they want to engage in politics, they should beat us in the elections, but they should not stoop to these levels,” he said.

Addressing another controversy, Mr. Reddy said notices were issued and investigations were carried out following the alleged discovery of drugs in a farmhouse associated with the brother-in-law of BRS working president KT Rama Rao.

“Why is KTR silent on this issue? Why is he not taking any action against the former BRS MLA caught in the farmhouse drug incident?” he asked.

He accused BRS leaders of losing their sense of humanity and trying to exploit every issue politically. The Prime Minister also alleged that BRS was trying to play “corpse politics” on issues affecting farmers.

“If the opposition is truly concerned about farmers, they should offer constructive suggestions and recommendations to the government instead of politicizing the tragedies,” he said.

Targeting the BRS leadership, Mr. Reddy said that although former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao resigned long ago, Mr. Rama Rao appeared to believe that he was still living under the “Kalvakuntla Constitution”.

Caste census is our success

On the issue of caste census, the Chief Minister welcomed the observations of the Supreme Court and said that he considered it an honor that the Telangana government supported the Supreme Court’s decision in the State.

He stated that Telangana has set a model for the country by conducting caste census as well as general population census and making all the details available to the public.

Mr. Reddy appealed to the Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately include caste census in the national census to ensure proper representation of weaker sections in all sectors.

He accused the Center led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of looking at public issues and even international conflicts through a political lens.

The Prime Minister also criticized the Center for the rise in fuel prices and alleged that petrol and diesel prices were increased many times after the elections. In response, he said the Telangana government takes decisions with a long-term vision and cited the recent increase in minimum wage for workers as an example.