4 min readNew DelhiJun 28, 2024 01:39 AM IST
First published on: Jun 27, 2024 at 05:27 PM IST
THE CRIMINAL Investigation Department (CID) of the Karnataka Police on Thursday filed a chargesheet against former chief minister and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa in connection with allegations of sexually assaulting a minor.
The 81-year-old former CM has been charged under Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which prescribes punishment for sexual assault of a minor. The law provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of three years which can be extended up to five years in jail.
Additionally, Yediyurappa also faces charges under the Indian Penal Code Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 204 (destruction of evidence) and 214 (offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender).
Three of the former CM’s associates, Arun Y M, Rudresh M and Y Mariswamy, have also been accused under IPC Sections 204 and 214 for allegedly destroying evidence of a video recorded by the minor’s mother of her confrontation with Yediyurappa after the alleged incident.
In a police complaint filed on March 14, the minor’s mother alleged that the incident occurred when she and her daughter visited Yediyurappa’s residence on February 2, 2024, for help in seeking justice in an earlier case of alleged sexual assault by a relative on the girl. A police case was registered, and the case was transferred to the CID on March 15.
The chargesheet, filed in a fast-track court designated for POCSO cases, comes a day before the Karnataka High Court is set to hear Yediyurappa’s petitions seeking anticipatory bail and quashing of the FIR against him.
The minor’s family has also filed a fresh plea in the HC alleging that the CID investigation was not moving fast enough. Both the cases are expected to be taken up together on Friday.
At the last hearing on June 14, the HC had directed the CID not to take any “coercive steps”. “He is no Tom, Dick or Harry. He is not a bandicoot. He is the former chief minister of the state. Is it your case that he will flee away from the country by going to Delhi? So many things are taking shape in the political arena. He will come back. What is it that he will be able to do going to Delhi?” the single judge bench of Justice S Krishna Dixit had observed.
The CID told the HC that it has gathered evidence of the alleged incident, including the minor’s statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, statements of other witnesses, and data retrieved from a cellphone on which the purported evidence was recorded.
“The HC had earlier said we cannot take any coercive steps but filing a chargesheet is not a coercive step. In fact, in POCSO cases, it should be done soon,” an officer involved in the case told The Indian Express.
Yediyurappa has denied the allegations and said he had helped the mother and daughter in the past. “There is no prima facie material on record which discloses that the petitioner has committed the alleged offence of sexual assault,” states his petition for quashing the FIR against him. The former CM has claimed that the case was politically motivated and there was over a month’s delay in filing the complaint.
With the chargesheet filed, Yediyurappa will face trial before a special POCSO court in Bengaluru. Sources said there was some confusion on whether the trial should take place before a POCSO court or the Special Court designated for MPs/MLAs.
“The state preferred the POCSO court since it is a ‘victim and offence centric’ court, while the MP/MLA court is offender centric,” the officer said. —With ENS inputs from Bengaluru
Yediyurappa has been charged under Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, which prescribes punishment for sexual assault of a minor. (File) 
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