Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl at his house in Bengaluru’s Sanjaynagar, appeared before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Monday, June 17. He was summoned by the CID on June 12 in relation to the case. However, he sought time till June 17 citing political engagements in New Delhi.
A Bengaluru fast-track court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Yediyurappa on June 13. However, the arrest was restrained by the Karnataka High Court on June 14 after Yediyurappa filed an anticipatory bail petition for quashing the case. During the hearing, Yediyurappa’s counsel stated his willingness to cooperate with the investigation.
The HC dismissed concerns that Yediyurappa would flee, stating, “He is not some Tom, Dick, or Harry. He is a former Chief Minister of the state. Is it your case that he will flee the country? What can he do by leaving for Delhi from Bangalore?”
Advocate S Balan, who had filed a petition in the Karnataka HC on behalf of the minor’s brother, had alleged that there were serious lapses in the investigation. He argued that the police had not seized CCTV footage from Yediyurappa’s house where the alleged sexual assault had occurred. It was also argued that the police had not recovered digital evidence such as mobile phones as well as DNA evidence. He also pointed out that attempts were made in court to vilify the complainant, the minor’s mother, who died in May.
The POCSO case was registered against Yediyurappa on March 14, after the girl’s mother filed a complaint at the Sadashivanagar police station. Yediyurappa allegedly sexually assaulted the 17-year-old girl on February 2 when she and her mother approached him at his residence seeking help in a previous case where the minor was sexually assaulted. In the FIR, the mother had alleged that Yediyurappa assaulted the child in a room at his residence. The case was handed over to the CID on March 15.
