SSC question paper leak case: Bandi Sanjay remanded to judicial custody till April 19

WARANGAL: Bharatiya Janata Party Telangana President Bandi Sanjay has been sent on a 14-day remand in connection with the SSC question paper leak case. He was arrested from his in-laws’ house in Karimnagar at 1 am on Wednesday. Hanamkonda Principal Magistrate Anitha Rapolu, after hearing both sides, remanded Bandi Sanjay and three others to judicial custody till April 19, 2023. Following the court directions, the police were making arrangements to shift Bandi Sanjay to the Khammam Central Jail.

The magistrate concurred with the prosecution argument that Bandi Sanjay, named as A1 in the sensational question paper leak case, be sent on a 14-day remand. The contention of Bandi Sanjay’s lawyers that the arrest was illegal and in violation of due procedure failed to cut ice with the Hanamkonda principal magistrate.

BJP to file bail petition in Telangana High Court on Thursday

The legal cell of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will move the Telangana High Court on Thursday with a bail petition, opposing Bandi Sanjay’s arrest by the state police. Reacting to the Hanamkonda principal magistrate’s decision to remand the BJP Telangana chief and three others to a 14-day judicial custody, Karuna Sagar, senior High Court advocate and a member of the BJP legal cell, told the media about their decision to approach the High Court.

Karuna Sagar said that the bail petition would be moved as a lunch motion. He further said that another petition, for contempt of court, would also be filed against the Telangana police for not following the due procedure and violating the Supreme Court guidelines in relation to the arrest of a Member of Parliament.

Earlier, after going through the eight-page remand report of the police, Hanamkonda Principal Magistrate Anitha Rapolu permitted the proceedings which eventually began at her residence at around 5:45 pm. Subsequently, the BJP Telangana chief was produced before her. The prosecution lawyers contended that, as the mastermind in the case, Bandi Sanjay should be sent on a 14-day remand. They also opposed bail for the BJP MP even as the latter’s team of lawyers reportedly moved a bail petition and argued against his arrest.

They claimed that the arrest was illegal as it was in violation of the Section 41 A CrPC procedure besides the guidelines set by the Supreme Court. They also contended that the apex court guidelines in the Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar were also not adhered to. Based on these grounds, the defence lawyers pressed for the grant of bail immediately to him.

Confusion prevailed for quite some time after Bandi Sanjay was driven to the Hanamkonda court complex. Contrary to expectations, the BJP Telangana chief could not be produced immediately in the court due to a government holiday on Wednesday on account of Jagjivan Ram birth anniversary. Consequently, Bandi Sanjay had to wait in the police car itself for close to two hours. A heavy buildup of activists of both the BJP and the BRS kept the police personnel on their toes amid fears of a flare-up. The police are reported to have taken precautions by keeping the two rival sides far away from each other.

Sanjay alleges police excesses

Before entering the principal magistrate’s residence, Bandi Sanjay was seen removing his shirt and showing to his legal team the injuries he claimed to have received in the police action against him since late Tuesday night. He reportedly complained to his lawyers that the police had behaved rudely with him.

Earlier, while the waiting for the magistrate’s decision continued, a copy of the police remand report surfaced divulging some interesting revelations. As per the remand report, Bandi Sanjay was listed as A1 out of the nine accused named in the case. The case against the BJP Telangana chief was registered under eight sections.

Of the nine accused, four were stated to be absconding while the arrest of the four were shown. While Bandi Sanjay was named A1, his close aide Prashanth was named A2, Mahesh as A3 and Shiva Ganesh A5. The name of A4, being a juvenile, was not mentioned as per norms. The Warangal police will move the juvenile court for further proceedings in his case.

In another sensational revelation, the remand report mentioned Narender and Raju, the personal assistants of BJP’s Huzurabad MLA Etala Rajender, as some of the recipients of the question paper through social media. According to the report, Prashanth forwarded the question paper on Whatsapp to the two PAs of Etala. However,

Earlier, the Karimnagar MP was driven to the Hanamkonda court from the Madikonda Police Training Centre where he was secretly lodged for a few hours since Wednesday afternoon. A large number of BJP activists and sympathisers gathered outside the Hanamkonda court even as the police convoy carrying Bandi Sanjay entered the premises. According to some reports, the BJP Telangana chief was ushered into the court hall from the backdoor, as a precautionary measure.

Chappals, eggs hurled at Bandi Sanjay’s vehicle

According to some unconfirmed reports, a few BRS workers reportedly hurled chappals and eggs on the police car carrying Bandi Sanjay before the convoy entered the court premises. They reportedly raised slogans against the BJP leader for playing with the lives of innocent students for the sake of his selfish politics. Security was beefed up with a police cordon thrown around the Hanamkonda court premises amid high tension.

The police, who were said to be destined for Warangal in the afternoon itself, had to change their plans due to violent protests and stiff resistance from the BJP cadre at several places.

To diffuse the protests and hoodwink the belligerent BJP activists, the police kept the information on Bandi Sanjay’s whereabouts highly confidential until a few minutes before they took him to the Hanamkonda court. After putting the BJP leader through the mandatory medical examination at Palakurthi Government Hospital, the police changed their plans of taking Bandi Sanjay to the court straightaway, as was largely expected. Instead, he was driven to the Madikonda Police Training Centre where he was lodged for a good two hours.