Karnataka CID files chargesheet against ex-CM BS Yediyurappa in POCSO case

Karnataka CID on Thursday filed a chargesheet against former chief minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa over allegations of sexually assaulting a minor girl.

The chargesheet was filed in the special court dealing with POCSO cases by the Crime Investigation Department of the state.

After the Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru registered a case of molestation in March this year against the BJP stalwart, Karnataka Director General of Police Alok Mohan had issued an order transferring it to the CID for further investigation.

The POCSO case against the former CM was registered based on an FIR by a 54-year-old woman, who alleged that he molested her 17-year-old daughter during a meeting in February this year, at his residence in Bengaluru's Dollar Colony. Yediyurappa denied all the allegations against him.

While denying the charge filed against him, the BJP leader said that "people would teach a lesson to those indulging in conspiracies against me." The CID questioned Yediyurappa for about three hours on June 17 in connection with the case. The Karnataka High Court had earlier passed orders restraining the CID from arresting Yediyurappa in the case.

The victim's mother, who filed the sexual assault against Yediyurappa, died at a private hospital in Bengaluru last month, due to lung cancer.

According to police, Yediyurappa has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and Section 354 A (Sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the molestation complaint.

Earlier this month, the victim's brother filed a petition in court alleging that no progress has been made despite the FIR being filed three months ago. The petitioner prayed that Yediyurappa should be arrested and interrogated.

The allegations against the BJP leader sparked a major political controversy, with many opposition party leaders slamming the party for not taking strict action against the former CM.

Mehbooba Mufti, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, criticised the Karnataka High Court's decision to stay Yediyurappa's arrest. She said that the decision exposed selective justice, contrasting Yediyurappa's treatment with that of former chief ministers Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal, both of whom were arrested on what she described as lesser charges.

(With inputs from PTI)