The appeal came as the Karnataka High Court was hearing Yediyurappa’s petition to quash charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly assaulting the minor at his residence in February. The court adjourned the hearing to 10 January.
Published Jan 07, 2025 | 5:15 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 07, 2025 | 5:15 PM
File photo of BS Yediyurappa. (Supllied)
The brother of a minor girl, who was allegedly sexually exploited by former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, has made an emotional appeal to the judiciary through social media urging them not to quash the case against the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.
The appeal came as the Karnataka High Court was hearing Yediyurappa’s petition to quash charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly assaulting the minor at his residence in February 2024. The court adjourned the hearing to 10 January.
“I request the Judiciary not to allow this case to be quashed under any circumstances. Kindly make this case an example by sending BSY behind bars,” the victim’s brother said in the five-minute video message posted on X.
“I trust in the Judicial process. I have been trusting the Judicial process for years together now and I really believe that justice will be delivered one day. Me or my sister are not scared of anyone.”
I am posting this video to seek justice for my sister, B.S.Yediyurappa should be jailed in this POCSO case !!@siddaramaiah @DKShivakumar pic.twitter.com/nr5gi4Megw
— need for justice (@neeed4justice) January 7, 2025
He detailed his family’s decade-long struggle for justice, revealing that his minor sister continues to be “haunted by those unpleasant memories every single day.”
“After my mother passed away, it came as an even bigger shocker to us to keep our emotions in check and stay strong. She always was powering through to get justice.
“Almost for a decade, she kept fighting. It all started in 2016 when the first POCSO case was filed,” he said.
Addressing allegations about his late mother, he stated, “Frankly, one more reason for me to do this video is to tell all the people who are discrediting her by telling that she has put false cases, they say 56 cases.
“It is not at all true. It is only 6 cases and the rest 50 were petitions to senior officers requesting them to help us get justice.”
In the video, he also accused former Bengaluru Additional Commissioner of Police (CCB) Alok Kumar of, “spreading misinformation and physically assaulting his mother”.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) filed a 750-page charge sheet against Yediyurappa and three others in June 2024, following a three-hour-long questioning.
The case stems from an alleged incident on 2 February, 2024, when the 17-year-old victim and her mother visited Yediyurappa’s residence seeking assistance in an earlier sexual assault case.
The victim’s brother further appealed to Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddharamiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to “appoint a good lawyer, senior advocate to represent us because honestly, Judiciary is my last glimmering hope for my family.”
The CID’s charge sheet also names three of Yediyurappa’s aides for allegedly attempting to destroy evidence and cover up the case.
The document lists 74 witnesses, including the victim and her late mother, who had recorded their statements before her death.
While an arrest warrant was initially issued by the trial court, the Karnataka High Court halted Yediyurappa’s arrest on 14 June 2024.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
