Bengaluru:

A special Bengaluru court Thursday ordered veteran BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa along with other accused, to appear before it on July 15 in connection with the case of sexual harassment of a minor under the Pocso Act against him.

The Special Pocso First Fast Track Court ordered authorities to issue summons to Mr Yediyurappa and other accused, considering the charge sheet submitted by the CID in the Pocso case against Mr Yediyurappa.

The CID, which is probing the case against Mr Yediyurappa, had submitted a charge sheet against him in the special fast track court in Bengaluru on June 27.

As per the charge sheet, Mr Yediyurappa, in collusion with the other three accused, had been charged under the Pocso Act and IPC’s sections 354(A) (sexual harassment), 204 (destroying document or electronic record) and 214 (offering bribe to another person to make them conceal an offence).

The other accused face charges of colluding with Mr Yediyurappa to hush up the case under IPC’s sections 204 and 214.

The charge sheet mentions that the complainant had gone to meet Mr Yediyurappa at his residence on Feb 2 this year to seek his help regarding the sexual assault against her 17-year-old daughter.

Mr Yediyurappa, holding the wrist of the girl, took her into a room in his residence, locked it, and sexually harassed her by putting his hand into her bra and pressing her chest, it said. However, it mentions that she resisted and came out of the room. Afterwards, the BJP leader had refused to help them.

When the victim uploaded the photo and video on a social media account, the accused had got them called to his residence through other accused persons and gave Rs 2 lakh cash to the complainant. The accused had also got the photos and video deleted from social media and from the iPhone gallery.

The victim’s mother had passed away on May 26 due to health complications in Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, Mr Yediyurappa had refuted the charges and said that he was ready to face any case. “A mother and daughter were found near my residence. We did not entertain them out of suspicion. But, once I saw them sitting near my house with tears in their eyes. I called them and asked why they were weeping. They claimed that they were going through a big crisis. I called up Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayanand asked him to help them out. The woman and daughter started talking against me there itself and they were sent out.”

“Then the matter had taken a different turn. If we come forward to help, these are the consequences to be faced. I had even given them money after hearing their woes. I will face everything,” the former Chief Minister had said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday appeared before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for an inquiry in connection with a POCSO case registered against him.

The Karnataka High Court on Friday restrained the CID from arresting the veteran BJP leader in connection with the March 14 case.

According to police, Mr 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 who alleged that he molested her daughter during a meeting on February two this year, at his residence in Dollars Colony here.

Mr Yediyurappa has denied the charge, and said “people would teach a lesson to those indulging in conspiracies against him.” 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

State BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Friday reacted to the Karnataka High Court restraining the CID from arresting his father and former chief minister B S Yediyurappa in a POCSO case, and said that the truth will prevail in the “temple of justice”.

Earlier in the day, the high court restrained the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) from arresting the veteran BJP leader in the case filed against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

It also directed Mr Yediyurappa to appear before the CID which is probing the case, on June 17.

In a post on social media platform X, Mr Vijayendra said, “…blessings of people of Karnataka and their prayers has paid off in the temple of justice. Political conspiracies have always followed Yediyurappa. Without losing heart, he will gain victory over these conspiracies by following the path of justice.” He further said that Yediyurappa’s respect for the law of the land has been proved by the high court’s decision today to grant him interim bail the case. “Yediyurappa is not one to turn his back on investigations,” he said.

“It is our firm belief that the truth will prevail in the temple of justice in the coming days,” he added in his post.

A Bengaluru court on Thursday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Mr Yediyurappa in the POCSO case registered on March 14 this year.

The Special Investigation Team of the CID had moved the First Fast Track Court seeking an arrest warrant against him since he failed to appear for questioning on Wednesday.

Mr Yediyurappa had sought time to join the probe.

According to the police, Mr Yediyurappa has been booked under the POCSO Act 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 who alleged that he molested her daughter during a meeting on February 2 this year, at his residence in Dollars Colony here.

Mr Yediyurappa, who has denied the charge and said he would fight the case legally, had filed two separate petitions in the high court, seeking anticipatory bail and quashing of the FIR.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

Mining baron and lone MLA of Karnataka Rajya Pragathi Paksha (KRPP) G Janardhana Reddy on Sunday said he would rejoin the BJP on March 25.

The KRPP founder said he took the decision to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister again for the third time.

“After consulting my supporters, I took the decision. Tomorrow at 10 am I am rejoining BJP,” he told reporters here.

Mr Reddy said he would support the BJP candidate from Ballari Lok Sabha constituency, B Sriramulu, whom he called a boy raised by him.

Mr Sriramulu, a former minister, lost the assembly election from the Ballari assembly segment in 2023.

Mr Reddy was a minister in the BJP government headed by B S Yediyurappa and was jailed in the mining scam.

He had distanced himself from the BJP and founded the KRPP.

In the 2023 assembly election, he was instrumental in the defeat of his two brothers, G Karunakara Reddy and G Somashekara Reddy, who were BJP candidates from Harapanahalli and Ballari City respectively.

Mr Reddy fielded his wife Aruna Lakshmi against his brother and BJP candidate Somashekara Reddy in Ballari City and ensured his defeat. Congress candidate Nara Bharath Reddy won from there.

In the Rajya Sabha elections held on February 27, he supported Congress.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shivamogga:

Senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa on Friday announced that he will contest as an independent candidate from the Shimoga seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, blaming party veteran and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa for his son KE Kantesh being denied a ticket for the Haveri constituency.

However, he claimed that this was a fight to save the party and its ideology and to make Narendra Modi Prime Minister once again.

“I will contest as your independent candidate from the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency,” Eshwarappa said, announcing his banner of revolt against BJP, at a meeting convened by his supporters.

“The party may issue notice to me or expel me. In case I win within two months, I’m confident that my supporters will join me at the feet of my mother — the BJP,” he added.

Yediyurappa’s son and sitting MP B Y Raghavendra is the party candidate from Shimoga, where Congress has fielded former Chief Minister S Bangarappa’s daughter Geetha Shivarajkumar, wife of Kannada film star Shivarajkumar and daughter-in-law of thespian late Dr Rajkumar.

The 75-year-old former Deputy Chief Minister reiterated his allegation that Yediyurappa, a member of the BJP Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee, had assured a ticket for his son and promised to campaign for his victory, but had now “cheated” him.

Eshwarappa said that Yediyurappa had ensured a ticket for Bommai and Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje, but “not for his son”.

BJP has fielded former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai from the Haveri seat.

Eshwarappa claimed that Kantesh had prepared himself to contest from Haveri after taking Yediyurappa’s consent. “If Kantesh had contested Haveri he would have surely won,” he said.

He alleged that BJP’s state unit is in the clutches of the Yediyurappa family, with one son as MP and the other son B Y Vijayendra as MLA and state president. He questioned if the Congress’ culture of dynastic politics had crept into the Karnataka BJP.

Eshwarappa, who is a former state BJP president, also accused Yediyurappa of sidelining those who espoused the cause of Hindutva like Nalin Kumar Kateel, Pratap Simha, C T Ravi and D V Sadananda Gowda. Incidentally, Kateel, Simha and Gowda–all sitting MPs– have been denied tickets for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Eshwarappa, Yediyurappa and the late HN Ananth Kumar are widely credited for building the BJP in Karnataka from the grassroots.

Pointing out that he has served the party for over 40 years, Eshwarappa said that he would never quit the party in his life, but was taking a decision to save the ideology and principles of the party.

However, Eshwarappa repeatedly stressed that he is not opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Even if my life goes, I will not go against Narendra Modi. If my heart is opened there will be Lord Rama on one side, and Modi on the other.” He called on his supporters to unite and work together to ensure his victory so that the issues in the party are noticed by the national leadership which would help “save the BJP from one family” and ensure that “justice is done to lakhs of workers and Hindutva activists”.

Eshwarappa also said that he was taking this position not just because his son had been denied the ticket. “I want the organisation to survive, the party should not go into the clutches of one family,” he said. He also claimed that Yediyurappa’s recent assurance of making Kantesh an MLC was a lie.

Earlier in the day in Bengaluru, in response to these developments, Yediyurappa said, “We will convince Eshwarappa. He should be with us, he is our senior leader. I’m confident that everything will be fine.” Ahead of the Assembly polls last year, Eshwarappa opted out of the contest and requested the party’s central leadership to not field him from any constituency as he wished to retire from electoral politics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had then dialled Eshwarappa and spoken to him over a video call to express appreciation for his move to retire from politics as per the instructions of the party.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa has been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act over allegations of sexually harassing a teen.

The police in Bengaluru’s Sadashivanagar charged the senior BJP leader based on a complaint by the mother of the 17-year-old girl.

According to sources in the police, the girl has alleged that she was assaulted on February 2 when she and her mother visited the 81-year-old leader to seek assistance in a cheating case.

According to the FIR, the BJP leader allegedly sexually assaulted the girl after calling her into a room.

Addressing the media, Mr Yediyurappa questioned the timing of the complaint, coming just weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha election. “I helped the complainant financially. The timing is questionable since the FIR comes just ahead of the polls,” he said.

The former Chief Minister claimed the girl came to him seeking help with some cases of cheating. However, she didn’t speak to him properly which gave him the idea that she may not be mentally sound, he said.

Mr Yediyurappa’s office has rubbished the allegations as baseless, accusing the mother and daughter of filing over 50 complaints in the past. A list put out by Mr Yediyurappa’s office showed 53 different complaints filed before.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said, “A lady gave a complaint to the Sadashivanagar police station against BS Yediyurappa, our former Chief Minister, saying that her daughter was molested. So the police registered the case and an investigation is on. Until and unless we know the truth, we cannot reveal anything. This is a very sensitive matter because it involves a former Chief Minister. Let’s see what the report says”.

The minister ruled out any political angle in the case and said, “I don’t think there’s a political angle to this. We don’t know the lady. She went to the police and complained. The police didn’t refuse her and registered the case.”

BS Yediyurappa served as Karnataka Chief Minister in 2007 and later from 2008 to 2011. He was chief minister again for three days in May 2018, and then from July 2019 to July 2021.