New Delhi: Senior BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who been charged under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act over allegations of sexually harassing a teenager, has questioned the timing of complaint.
The 17-year-old girl’s mother filed a complaint based on which Bengaluru police filed a complaint against Yediyurappa.
The BJP leader allegedly sexually assaulted the girl after calling her into a room.
The teenager claimed 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.
“I helped the complainant financially. The timing is questionable since the FIR comes just ahead of the (Lok Sabha) polls,” Yediyurappa told mediapersons.
According to the former CM, the girl came to him seeking regarding some cases of cheating.
Yediyurappa said the girl didn’t speak to him properly, which gave him the impression that she may not be mentally sound.
Dismissing the allegations as baseless, Yediyurappa’s office accused the mother and daughter of filing over 50 complaints in the past. A list was put out, showing 53 complaints filed before this one.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara defended the police.
“A lady gave a complaint to 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,” said Parameshwara.
Ruling out the possibility of a political angle in the case, Parameshwara said: “We don’t know the lady. She went to the police and complained. The police didn’t refuse her and registered the case.”
Yediyurappa had four stints as Karnataka CM — in 2007, from 2008 to 2011, for three days in May 2018 and again from July 2019 to July 2021.
