A non-bailable arrest warrant was issued against former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa by a Bengaluru court on Thursday in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) case. He is accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), probing the case against Yediyurappa, had earlier summoned him for questioning. He, however, had sought time to appear before the investigation officer of the CID.
The BJP veteran, who is also a member of the party’s parliamentary board, is presently in Delhi, and he is likely to join the probe after he returns, sources close to him have said, PTI reports.
Based on a complaint by the mother (54) of the 17-year-old girl, police booked the former Karnataka CM under the POCSO Act and Section 354 A (Sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The complaint alleged that he sexually assaulted her daughter during a meeting on February two this year, at his residence in Dollars Colony in Bengaluru.
The case was registered by the Sadashivanagar police. On March 14, the Karnataka Director General of Police Alok Mohan issued an order transferring it to the CID for further investigation with immediate effect.
The woman, who had levelled the charge against Yediyurappa, died at a private hospital here last month, due to lung cancer.
Rejecting the accusations, Yediyurappa said he would fight the case in the court.