Hyderabad: The gruesome murder of six people in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district and the POCSO case against the head of a dargah in Nellore prompted Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan to issue a directive to the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP), urging more effective implementation of the POCSO Act, 2012.
The letter, sent Thursday, puts forward key suggestions regarding time-bound investigation, victim protection, evidence preservation and effective monitoring to ensure timely justice and stronger protection for every child.
On 12 July, B. Rajkumar, who was out on bail after being accused of stalking a minor girl, went on a killing spree, murdering six people, including his wife and two young sons. Released on bail secured on a mere surety of Rs 20,000 that morning, Rajkumar also stabbed to death the 17-year-old minor, her mother, and grandmother for reporting him.
Police authorities said Rajkumar confessed his crime to his aged father over a phone call before taking his own life. The horrific incident in Shabad Mandal led the district and state administrations to appoint seven special teams to nab the perpetrator, who had fled after committing the crime. But before the police could find their way to him, he was found dead, having consumed a pesticide in his own field.
The disturbing development in Telangana prompted Pawan Kalyan to write a separate letter to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy as well, seeking his cooperation in directing the state’s police force to ensure speedy justice for POCSO victims. “This horrific episode demonstrates the catastrophic risks of inadequate victim protection, insufficiently rigorous bail scrutiny in POCSO matters, and failure to take proactive preventive measures. It serves as an urgent warning that such tendencies may manifest in our state (Andhra Pradesh), and that robust mechanisms are essential,” Kalyan’s letter read.
The Nellore dargah POCSO case refers to allegations against Hafeez Pasha, the hereditary spiritual head (Sajjada Nashin and Mutawalli) of the Rehmatabad Dargah in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district. He has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl, and an FIR was lodged against him at the Langerhouse police station, Hyderabad, in 2023.
However, with Pasha continuing to perform certain religious rituals at the shrine, several leaders and distinguished religious heads from the Muslim community wrote to Pawan Kalyan, expressing grave concern about his continuance.
Reports suggest that Hafeez Pasha is facing another POCSO case in Andhra.
“I have asked the Andhra Pradesh state police to apprise the AP Waqf Board and the district administration of the pendency of such serious charges so that suitable measures in accordance with law may be considered to protect the sanctity and public trust associated with the Dargah,” Kalyan said in his letter.
In his four-page letter, Kalyan, who is also the Jana Sena Party (JSP) founder, outlined a comprehensive set of operational, procedural, and institutional reforms to strengthen the protection of children under the POCSO Act and ensure timely justice.
To expedite the legal and investigative processes, the measures propose mandatory specialised training for investigating officers (IOs) focusing on child-sensitive methods, trauma-informed statement recording, and digital evidence collection. Furthermore, he suggested that medical examinations of victims must be conducted within 24 hours by qualified doctors using SAFE kits. Pressing for time-bound investigation, he emphasised that the police must set a strict 60-day target to file chargesheets for straightforward cases and take no longer than 90 days to charge criminals for complex ones.
To protect victims from retaliatory violence, Pawan Kalyan’s directives mandate rigorous opposition to bail by the police and public prosecutors. The IOs have been asked to submit comprehensive threat assessments and vulnerability reports periodically in every case.
At an institutional level, Pawan Kalyan suggested that the state’s policing ecosystem will be strengthened through a uniform Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) spanning from FIR registration to final disposal. He also suggested that dedicated POCSO monitoring cells be established at the district, range, and state levels to oversee progress and resolve bottlenecks through monthly and quarterly joint review meetings.
Referencing his suggestions to the Supreme Court’s Lalita Kumari ruling, where the court ruled that the police must file an FIR even before commencing a preliminary enquiry, the Deputy CM said there would be zero tolerance in Andhra Pradesh for any registration delays at the police station.
Finally, he also said that strict reporting protocols will be integrated into external institutions like schools, hostels, and coaching centres to ensure the mandatory reporting of abuse under Sections 19-20 of the POCSO Act.
Pawan Kalyan also sought a report from the Andhra Pradesh police within 30 days on the action taken based on the suggestions he offered.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)