D K Shivakumar and others must be arrested: BJP MLA Jarkiholi in fresh salvo over sex CD case

At a press conference in Belagavi on Monday, the BJP leader said, “D K Shivakumar and company have to be arrested. The woman, who made the CD, and the two youths who facilitated it – Shravan and Naresh – should be arrested. Also, a granite businessman Shivakumar from Kanakapura, his driver Parashivamurthy, and two leaders from Mandya – all hatched the conspiracy to create a CD to defame me.”

“They have also made similar CDs of hundreds of people from different parts of the state and have blackmailed many leaders from all parties and government officials. The matter must be referred to the CBI by the State and Central Government,” he also claimed.

The BJP leader said he has approached Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to refer the sex CD case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Last week, Jarkiholi had said he would seek a CBI probe into the case.

Jarkiholi, who has claimed to be in possession of audio conversations linking Shivakumar to the creation of the sex CD, also released an audio clip purportedly of the Congress leader talking about his wealth, including properties in London, Dubai, Delhi, and Mumbai.

“This is a personal battle between Ramesh Jarkiholi and D K Shivakumar. This has been going on for the last two years. I was quiet for a while and was waiting for the right time to act on the conspiracy against me. I was waiting for election time to raise the issue,” he claimed.

“I have more than 120 documents. I will hand it over to CBI. I will, however, show you a sample to reveal that I am not firing blanks. The issues around the CD will be revealed to the authorities since that would be appropriate. This is a criminal case and if I release the evidence now it will give the accused a chance to cover up their lapses,” he said.

Jarkiholi claimed that Shivakumar is “unfit to be a politician”. “Whatever the political differences, there should never be personal battles between leaders. When there are personal issues, politicians should have the humanity to reach out to each other and help rather than hurt each other,” he said.

The BJP MLA also claimed his falling out with his ‘former friend’ Shivakumar began after his refusal to clear a file of a 63-acre property in Bengaluru worth over Rs 10,000 crore in favour of the Congress leader and his associates when Jarkiholi was the cooperatives minister.

Jarkiholi’s allegations against Shivakumar have come after the Congress party in Karnataka approached the police and Election Commission of India with a complaint against the BJP leader for offering to pay voters in Belagavi Rs 6000 each to vote in favour of his party in the upcoming Assembly election in the state.

Last week, Shivakumar had reacted to Jarkiholi’s allegations by saying he could approach anyone with his complaints.

In March 2021, Jarkiholi had claimed the sex video was fake but he later gave a statement to the Special Investigation Team of the Bengaluru police saying he was honey-trapped by a gang. On February 4, 2022, the SIT filed a closure report in the sexual assault case filed against Jarkiholi, saying they did not find evidence to file a chargesheet. This has been challenged by the woman in the Supreme Court, which has imposed a stay on further proceedings in the trial court.