Karnataka: A Bengaluru court in Karnataka on Thursday, issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against BS Yediyurappa, the former Chief Minister of the state and a BJP leader. The issued warrant is in connection with the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), which deals with sexual assault cases against minors.
Yediyurappa is facing charges under the Pocso Act and Section 354 A (Sexual Harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). These charges are based on a complaint lodged by the mother of a 17-year-old girl, claiming Yediyurappa sexually assaulted her daughter during a meeting at his residence in Karnataka in February of this year. The 54-year-old woman passed away last month in a private hospital due to lung cancer.
In the meantime, the fast-track court hearing the case issued a non-bailable warrant against the former CM of Karnataka, ordering his immediate arrest. The CID has already summoned Yediyurappa for questioning in the case. On March 14, the Bengaluru police registered a case against Yediyurappa under the Pocso Act.
81-year-old Yediyurappa has denied the allegations and said that he would legally fight the case. In response to the arrest warrant, the former CM claimed that they were part of a political vendetta. Yediyurappa has applied for anticipatory bail at a special court to avoid arrest in the POCSO case filed against him, according to a statement from his office.
Earlier in the day, G Parameshwara, the Home Minister of the Karnataka Congress government, responded to a question by saying, “If necessary they will arrest. I can’t say (if) it is necessary, CID has to say it. If they feel it is necessary, they will do it.”
Yediyurappa, a veteran of the BJP and a member of the party’s parliamentary board, is currently in Delhi.
