Bandi remanded to 14-day judicial custody

Hyderabad/Karimnagar: BJP Telangana president and Karimnagar Lok Sabha member Bandi Sanjay was sent to judicial remand for 14 days on Monday after the Karimnagar district court rejected his bail petition. Amid high drama, Sanjay along with four others were lodged in Karimnagar district jail.

The police lodged a total of 10 cases against Sanjay before producing him in the court. Along with the case which was registered on Sunday under Disaster Management Act, the police mentioned the previous nine cases booked since 2012 in the remand report against Sanjay.

Sanjay's arrest evoked sharp protests from BJP leaders and cadre across the state. BJP national president JP Nadda strongly condemned his arrest and said that the party will take legal and democratic recourse against the police.

Sanjay was arrested by Karimnagar police on Sunday night under Disaster Management Act on charges of violating Covid norms, attacking police and various other sections and was produced before the Karimnagar district court on Monday.

Tension prevailed at the police training centre on Monday as a large number of party workers gathered there to protest Sanjay's arrest. They raised slogans against Chief Minister K.  Chandrashekar Rao and the Karimnagar police commissioner.

After registering a non-bailable case against Sanjay and four others, they were produced in the district session court in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, a team of advocates, led by Advocate Raghunandan Rao, applied for Sanjay’s bail.

But after hearing the proceedings, the magistrate of the district sessions court Srinija did not take the bail petition into consideration. The magistrate sent Sanjay and four others to 14-day judicial remand for violating Covid-19 protocols.

Sanjay has set a dubious record as the first BJP state president to be sent to jail for holding protests.