BENGALURU: Senior BJP leader and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, who is 81 years old, has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after a complaint was filed by the mother of a 17-year-old girl. While the state government referred the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Yediyurappa termed the allegations baseless and said he is ready to face any probe.
The FIR was registered by the Sadashivanagar police on Thursday night, based on the complaint filed by the minor girl’s mother. It stated that the alleged incident took place at Yediyurappa’s residence on February 2. The woman stated that she had taken her daughter, a rape victim, to the former CM’s residence, to seek justice in the rape case and to request his intervention to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case.
The girl’s mother alleged in the complaint that Yediyurappa spoke to them for nine minutes before he took her daughter to a room, where he allegedly sexually harassed her after asking her whether she still remembers the face of the accused. “My daughter immediately pushed him away asking him to open the door, which was locked by him. Yediyurappa asked her to calm down and slowly opened the door. My daughter came out weeping,” she said.
Will get clear picture after probe: Dr G
“Yediyurappa said she was mentally disturbed. I asked her what had happened and she narrated the incident. Angered by this, I confronted Yediyurappa and asked him why he did it. He then said he was just checking whether she was really raped or not,” the woman stated in the complaint, adding that when she asked how can he do that, Yediyurappa allegedly turned apologetic and offered to help them, requesting her not to disclose the incident to anyone.
Based on the complaint, the police registered a case against the four-time CM, booking him under Section 8 (committing sexual assault) of the POCSO Act and Section 354 (a) (sexual harassment) of IPC.
Describing the case against the former CM as sensitive, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara said, “We have received information that the complainant is mentally challenged. We will get a clear picture only after the probe.”
It is learnt that the woman has filed scores of complaints and petitions against prominent personalities like politicians and senior officers.