Home » Karnataka » Former Karnataka Cm Bs Yediyurappa Appears Before Cid For Inquiry In Pocso Case

CID questions former Karnataka CM Yediyurappa for three hours in POCSO case

The girl's mother had alleged that he molested her daughter during a meeting in February 2024 at his residence in Dollars Colony.

BySouth First Desk

Published Jun 17, 2024 | 3:00 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 17, 2024 | 7:56 PM

BS Yediyurappa. (File picture)

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) questioned former Chief Minister and BJP stalwart BS Yediyurappa for three hours on Monday, 17 June in connection with a POCSO case registered against him.

Yediyurappa appeared before a team of CID, which had summoned him for an inquiry in connection with the case. “He was questioned for three hours,” a CID officer said.

The Karnataka High Court on Friday, 14 June restrained the CID from arresting the veteran BJP leader in connection with the POCSO case filed on 14 March. 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 a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl.

Case against BS Yediyurappa

The girl’s mother had alleged that he molested her daughter during a meeting on 2 February this year, at his residence in Dollars Colony in Bengaluru. Yediyurappa has denied the charge, and said “people would teach a lesson to those indulging in conspiracies against him.”

The victim’s brother had filed a petition in the court last week alleging that though the case was registered nearly three months ago, no progress has been made in the investigation. The petitioner prayed that Yediyurappa should be arrested and interrogated. After the Sadashivanagar police registered the case in March, the Karnataka Director General of Police Alok Mohan had issued an order transferring it to the CID for further investigation.

The 54-year-old woman, who had leveled the charge against Yediyurappa, died at a private hospital here last month, due to lung cancer. In April, the CID collected the voice sample of Yediyurappa after summoning him to the office.

Related: Not Tom, Dick or Harry but a former CM, says Karnataka HC

Lack of seriousness?

Alleging that CID was not pursuing the case seriously, the victim’s brother had filed a writ petition before the High Court through senior advocate S Balan demanding the arrest of the former chief minister and a quick completion of the probe.

“We have filed a writ petition before the high court. CID has not yet arrested the accused. Since the special court issued an arrest warrant against former CM BS Yediyurappa, we demand his immediate arrest,” advocate S Balan told South First on 13 June.

“The petition says the investigating agency has not proceeded with the probe as defined under section 2(h) of CrPC, regarding of collection evidence, arrest of accused, recovery of documents and material objects,” he said.

“The Investigating Officer did not apprehend the accused to record his statement and to draw spot inquest at his house. The victim’s brother and mother have approached authorities concerned for a fair investigation, but did not yield results,” added Balan.

Pointing at the lapses in the probe, Balan said that the investigating agency did not make any effort to collect any incriminating materials and to access and assess data in the digital materials.

“The accused was not issued a notice under section 41(A) or apprehended for investigation. We have prayed before the court to collect all digital material available in the CCTV footage, memory card, hard disc, etc., connected to the case,” added the senior advocate.

He sought the court to direct the authorities concerned to expedite the investigation and file a report within one month.

“We have made these appeals through a writ petition on 11 June. The court will ascertain the status of the case. If it feels that investigating officers have failed to follow the law, then it might take action,” elaborated Balan.