Sex Scandal: SIT probing all angles, will bring truth out, says Basavaraj Bommai
Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said the SIT, probing the alleged sex scandal involving former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi, was looking into all angles as per the set criminal procedures, and will bring out the truth without buckling under any political pressure.
The Minister slammed the opposition Congress for criticising the probe and said it will not influence the investigation in any way as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was functioning in accordance with law.
"SIT will have to do in detail all round inquiry systematically. There is a set criminal procedure code for it and accordingly it has to be done and they are doing it.
No one can intervene in it, so I will also not comment on it," Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters here, he sought to know what locus standi does the Congress have to criticise the government regarding the investigation, while accusing it of hushing up the sex scam involving former minister H Y Meti, when the national party was in power.
"They (Congress) will have to look back and see what they had done while in power.
We are doing things in accordance with law because ultimately everything has to be established in the court of law," he added.
Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar on Tuesday had alleged that the BJP government in the state was supporting and standing behind Ramesh Jarkiholi.
The opposition party also through a tweet had questioned the Home Minister calling him "Buildup Bommai", that as to why the accused Ramesh Jarkiholi was still roaming freely and has not been arrested.
Averring that such tweets, statements and protests from any side will not influence the SIT in any way, Bommai said SIT will function in accordance with law and will not buckle under any pressure.
"Without favouring anyone, they are working towards bringing the truth out.
There are efficient honest officers," he said, as he appealed that no one should try to cause any obstructions to the fair probe by making unnecessary comments or lowering its seriousness.
Police are free to take all necessary action based on the case, he added.
Meanwhile, the woman in the the purported sex CD has been subjected to medical test on Wednesday and later the spot mahajar will take place, police sources said.
She had on Tuesday appeared before the magistrate and recorded her statement, and later before the SIT.
An FIR was registered against Jarkiholi on March 26 based on a written complaint by the woman through her lawyer.
Jarkiholi, who was Water Resources Minister in Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa-led cabinet had resigned on March three, a day after news channels aired videos of the alleged sex scandal.
While Jarkiholi, a MLA from Gokak, has repeatedly claimed his innocence and that the video was fake, the woman in the purported sex video has accused him of sexually using her, cheating and threatening her after promising a government job.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
