Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara stated on Thursday that senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa could be arrested in connection with the POCSO case if necessary. He added that the state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will make the decision regarding the arrest. The former chief minister faces allegations of molesting a 17-year-old girl under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.
Meanwhile, fearing arrest, Yediyurappa has filed an anticipatory bail plea in the Karnataka High Court. The court has scheduled the matter to be heard tomorrow.
Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao commented on the case, saying, “Law is equal for everyone. Whatever has happened in that incident, the police will act as per the law. I won’t say he’s guilty or not. Law is equal for all. No one’s bigger than the law.”
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On Wednesday, the CID summoned Yediyurappa for questioning regarding the sexual harassment case. Yediyurappa responded to the CID’s notice, stating he would appear for questioning on June 17, citing his current presence in Delhi.
The girl’s mother lodged a complaint against Yediyurappa at the Sadashivanagar police station on March 14. Based on this complaint, the police charged the senior BJP leader under the POCSO Act and IPC Section 354A (sexual harassment). She alleged the incident occurred on February 2 this year when they visited Yediyurappa to seek help in a cheating case.
Yediyurappa has denied the allegations, calling them “baseless.” The octogenarian BJP leader has served as Karnataka’s Chief Minister several times: from 2008 to 2011, briefly in May 2018, and again from 2019 to 2021. He resigned in 2021 after weeks of speculation and uncertainty. He was succeeded by Basavaraj Somappa Bommai, who served as Chief Minister from July 2021 to May 2023. The BJP has announced Bommai as its candidate from the Haveri constituency for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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