Victim records partial statement in POCSO case against Yediyurappa, CID requests for lady magistrate for further procedure

Notably, Yediyurappa has been booked in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case after he allegedly sexually assaulted the 17-year-old girl at his residence in Bengaluru on February 2.

Recording of statement

The recording of the statement is considered a key step to assess the next legal steps to be taken in the case, including an arrest, if the allegations in the FIR are stated before a judge.

The statement of the victim was recorded by a male magistrate designated to record confessional statements in the Bengaluru magistrate courts. The statement was recorded verbatim in the presence of her mother and a representative of an NGO working for social services, the court observed on Tuesday.

After her initial statements were given behind closed doors with a video recording on Tuesday evening, the victim told the court that she would need another hour to complete her statement and the court adjourned the matter for Wednesday for further hearing.

On Wednesday, the victim did not appear in court and the CID investigation officer submitted a requisition “for the appointment of lady JO” or judicial officer to record the statement of the victim. The additional chief metropolitan magistrate has referred the matter to the chief metropolitan magistrate for a decision.

Sources said the victim’s family complained to the CID that there were some discrepancies in the recording of the statement of the victim resulting in the request for a female magistrate.

Allegation against Yediyurappa

The Bengaluru police registered a sexual harassment and POCSO case against the former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddiyurappa on March 14 for allegedly sexually harassing a minor at his residence in Bengaluru on February 2 when the victim and her mother approached the BJP leader to seek the formation of an SIT in a case where the victim had allegedly been abused by a family member nine years ago.

The woman alleged that her daughter was taken to a room where she was allegedly sexually harassed and that Yediyurappa, when questioned, claimed he was “checking the victim’s health”.

The Sadashivanagar police have registered a case under Section 8 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and Section 354 (a) (unwelcome and explicit sexual behaviour) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The case was transferred to the CID by the Karnataka police headquarters on March 15.

“Yesterday night (14 March) around 10 pm, the woman approached the Sadashivanagar police and filed a complaint. The police have registered a case and are investigating the matter. I do not want to speak about it now. It is a sensitive case as the allegations are against the former chief minister,” Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said last week.

What Yediyurappa said

Yediyurappa has refuted the allegations and said that he had helped the mother and daughter in the past. “Around one or one and a half months ago, they came to my house seeking help. After listening to her, I called city police commissioner B Dayananda over the phone seeking to address her problem. Later, they spoke against me and I then suspected there was some health problem with her,” Yediyurappa said in a reaction to the FIR.

“I sent them to the city police commissioner’s office. I even gave her some money as they were in trouble. I came to know that an FIR has been registered and I will look into it. But this is what I have faced for helping someone,” he said.

The police have claimed that the mother of the victim had previously filed complaints against policemen and political leaders for failing to respond to her demands for justice for her daughter in a rape incident that allegedly occurred nine years ago. The police have claimed that a chargesheet had been filed in the old case and the matter is in the court.