Activist Dinesh Kallahalli to withdraw complaint of sexual harassment against Ramesh Jarkiholi
Bengaluru, Mar 7: In a twist to the alleged sex-for-job scandal in Karnataka, social activist Dinesh Kallahalli on Sunday said he would withdraw his police complaint against BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, which had led to his resignation.
Dinesh Kallahalli said he will withdraw the complaint as he was hurt by allegations of a Rs 5 crore deal, levelled by JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy. However, the activist's laywer said there were some technical probelms due to which the decision was taken.
Meanwhile, Balachandra Jarkiholi, brother of Ramesh Jarkiholi, alleged that there was a big conspiracy in the state in which four teams have been working to 'malign' Jarkiholi and target the BJP ahead of assembly elections in five states.
Seeking a CBI probe into the episode, he told reporters here that the video allegedly featuring his brother and a woman was "doctored."
The activist has accused Jarkiholi of sexually exploiting a woman under the pretext of offering her a job in the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL).
As the matter snowballed into a major controversy, Jarikiholi tendered his resignation to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, which was forwarded to Governor Vajubhai Vala, who accepted it immediately.
Speaking to reporters, Kallahalli said, "I am deeply pained by Kumaraswamy's charge that I struck a Rs five crore deal. Hence, I decided to withdraw my complaint."
Kumaraswamy had on Friday alleged that the entire expose was a Rs five crore 'deal' and demanded that those claiming to have the objectionable video clips should be arrested immediately as it was a 'blackmail tactic.'
Kumar Patil, Kallahalli's lawyer, told media on Sunday that there were some technical problems due to which his client decided to withdraw the complaint.
To a query, Patil said his client was not the one to succumb to any political pressure.
"My client is not the one to give up his struggle. His objective was to grant justice to the victim," the lawyer said.
Amid apprehensions of a 'political conspiracy' being hatched to defame them, six ministers of the Yediyurappa-led cabinet have secured a court injunction restraining media from airing or publishing any defamatory content against them.
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Ruckus outside counting centre in Mamata's constituency, TMC claims entry of car with BJP flag
Kolkata (PTI): The counting centre at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Bhabanipur assembly constituency witnessed a ruckus a day ahead of the counting of votes, with TMC workers alleging two cars bearing the BJP's flag were allowed entry to the compound where EVMs are kept.
The incident comes close on the heels of a four-hour-long sit-in by Banerjee in front of the same counting centre at the Sakhawat Memorial Girls School on Thursday night, alleging unauthorised entry of persons into the strongroom.
With the polling now over, the wrangling for power in West Bengal has turned into a battle of nerves between the incumbent TMC and the BJP. Workers and leaders of both parties have been keeping a steely gaze on the security of strongrooms across the state where the electoral fate of the candidates is sealed.
Despite expressing her confidence in a "landslide victory", Banerjee has repeatedly aired her apprehensions of "counting malpractice and EVM tampering ahead of the day of results".
On Sunday morning, TMC workers camping 100 metres from the counting centre alleged that two cars with BJP flags entered the premises and went near the strongroom.
"The CAPF personnel at the spot are not allowing any vehicle or person to enter the premises of the counting centre without valid identity proof. Then how come this car, which we have not seen in the past few days, was allowed entry? Once we protested, the central forces asked us to move 100 metres away," a TMC activist said.
The TMC claimed that while the police personnel posted there promised the vehicle would be removed from the spot, it remained there for some time.
A senior Election Commission official said the car was passing by the Harish Mukherjee Road, and after checking by security forces and police, it was allowed to leave as nothing objectionable was found in it.
On Thursday night, two counting centres, including one at Sakhawat Memorial Girls School in the city, witnessed high drama after TMC leaders alleged a lack of transparency and possible malpractice at the strongrooms housing sealed EVMs of the assembly polls, which concluded on April 29.
TMC leaders and candidates, Sashi Panja and Kunal Ghosh, held a sit-in outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra counting centre on Thursday evening, alleging unauthorised activities inside the strongroom amid the absence of TMC agents
In Howrah, TMC protested renovation work by the public works department at a place adjacent to the strongroom, and the EC stopped the work temporarily.
On Saturday, the ruling party filed a complaint with the poll panel, alleging unauthorised sorting of postal ballot covers at the EVM strongroom in Khudiram Anushilan Kendra.
Similar scenes were witnessed on Saturday outside the strongrooms at Asansol College in Paschim Bardhaman and the Barasat Government College in North 24 Parganas districts, where TMC workers held protests, alleging that CCTV cameras were switched off for several minutes.
The EC turned down all allegations, saying the surveillance cameras were working in an uninterrupted manner.
BJP spokesperson Sajal Ghosh told reporters that the people of Bengal were finding it "hilarious" that the TMC, "which used to win elections through unfair means and strongarm tactics" were now coming up with all sorts of "frivolous charges".
"Are they scared of losing?" he posed.
