BENGALURU: The Special Investigation Team, probing the sleaze CD row allegedly involving BJP leader Ramesh Jarkiholi, has questioned five people on Friday, including a television journalist and the person who handed over the CD to social activist Dinesh Kallahalli. Another team has gone to Andhra Pradesh to pick up a person, said to be the prime accused in the case.
A highly placed source, “The SIT questioned a man and his female friend hailing from Ramanagara. They were brought to the city for interrogation. Another person who had given the CD to Dinesh Kallahalli in Gandinagar, Bengaluru, and two others from the outskirts of the city too have been questioned.
Cops: Kallahalli too under radar
They are said to have links to the CD controversy and are believed to be involved in a conspiracy while distributing the videos to television channels.”Another officer said, “Some of the suspects who were involved in the scandal have been detained based on a tip-off. Dinesh Kallahalli also may be questioned in the case as he had approached the city police commissioner to file a case. Later, Kallahalli decided to withdraw the case alleging that former CM H D Kumaraswamy was diverting the issue by stating that it was a case of extortion involving a deal of Rs 5 crore.”
However, Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Soumendu Mukherjee, who is heading the investigation, neither denied nor confirmed the developments. He told The New Indian Express, “It is too early to reveal anything about the probe which has begun. We do not want to share any details at this stage.”
On March 2, Dinesh Kallahalli met Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant to demand a detailed probe into the alleged scandal involving the BJP leader and alleged that he had cheated a woman, promising her a government job, and allegedly threatened her with dire consequences after she recorded their private moments. The leader later resigned as minister following the alleged scandal.
