It will be ʼgoodʼ if Yediyurappa appears before CID in POCSO case soon: Minister G Parameshwara
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Friday said that with a non-bailable arrest warrant against him in a POCSO case, it will be "good" if former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa comes back to Bengaluru soon and appears before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing it. According to reports, the veteran BJP leader has gone to an “undisclosed” location in New Delhi.
"Warrant has been issued, he will be brought and information will be gathered from him, and further action will be taken in accordance with law," Parameshwara told reporters.
On Yediyurappa's whereabouts, Parameshwara said he is said to have gone to Delhi and has informed that he will be back on June 17.
"Now that a warrant has been issued, it is good if he comes back soon," he said.
A Bengaluru court on Thursday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Yediyurappa in the case registered against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on March 14 this year.
The Special Investigation Team of the CID had moved the First Fast Track Court seeking an arrest warrant against him since he failed to appear for questioning on Wednesday.
Yediyurappa had sought time to join the probe.
When asked about BJP alleging "vendetta politics" on the part of the ruling Congress, Parameshwara said: "They have to say such things, what else can they say?"
Answering a question as to why the police was "silent" for three months and all of a sudden is now acting on the case after the Lok Sabha election polls are over, the Minister said: "investigation was on, FSL reports had to come. Procedurally what has to be done is being done, because he (Yediyurappa) is a senior leader, a VIP. So after proper verification they (police) are going ahead because if anything is wrong it will come on them."
Asked about "reports" that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had allegedly instructed for Yediyurappa's arrest, during his recent visit to Bengaluru, Parameshwara outrightly rejected them and said: "No, why will he (Rahul) involve himself in this? There is no use in simply cooking up a story. It is a local issue....there is no pressure from anyone."
Meanwhile, hitting out at the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, the Karnataka BJP said following the "humiliating defeat" in the Lok Sabha elections, Congress leaders have become busy plotting various conspiracies against the BJP.
"Congress, resentful towards the BJP, is now attempting to arrest our respected leader, Yediyurappa ji, based on a complaint from a mentally unstable woman. This comes after Rahul Gandhi faced court proceedings for spreading misinformation against Karnataka BJP," it said in a post on 'X'.
BJP alleged that In light of the corruption charges involving Minister B Nagendra (who subsequently resigned) in the Maharshi Valmiki Development Corporation and the subsequent allegations against the government itself, the Congress has devised a conspiracy to divert attention by maligning Yediyurappa.
"Previously, the Home Minister Parameshwara himself had stated that the complaint from the mentally unstable woman was malicious and without merit. It is absurd that the case is being revived after three months," it said.
"Why is the government focusing on Yediyurappa ji’s only, among 53 complaints filed by the woman, including against her own children and husband? Why plot a sudden arrest three months after the complaint was filed? If Congress leaders in Delhi succumb to such vile, vindictive politics and target Shri Yediyurappa ji, there is no doubt that Congress will be thrown out of Karnataka," BJP added.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi too, hitting out at the state government, said the Congress, unable to "digest" its defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, is showing its "political hate" against Yediyurappa.
He accused the Congress government of running a conspiracy by filing a false case against the 81-year-old Yeddyurappa to hide its mismanagement.
According to police, Yediyurappa has been booked under the POCSO Act and Section 354 A (Sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl who alleged that he molested her daughter during a meeting on February two this year, at his residence in Dollars Colony here.
The victim's brother had filed a petition in the court earlier this week alleging that though the case was registered on March 14, no progress has been made in the investigation. The petitioner prayed that Yediyurappa should be arrested and interrogated.
After the Sadashivanagar police registered the case in March, the Karnataka Director General of Police Alok Mohan had issued an order transferring it to the CID for further investigation.
The 54-year-old woman, who had leveled the charge against Yediyurappa, died at a private hospital here last month, due to lung cancer.
Yediyurappa has denied the charge and said he would fight the case legally.
In April, the CID collected the voice sample of Yediyurappa after summoning him to the office. The government, meanwhile, has appointed Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Ashok H Nayak to represent the CID in the case.
Yediyurappa has filed two separate petitions in the High Court, seeking anticipatory bail and quashing of the FIR.
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Karnataka issues order on internal quota within SC reservation; 56,432 recruitments to proceed
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday issued an order implementing internal reservation within the 15 per cent quota earmarked for Scheduled Castes in appointments and admissions.
As per the order, 5.25 per cent reservation has been allocated to Left-hand communities under Category-A, 5.25 per cent to Right-hand communities under Category-B, and 4.50 per cent to other touchable Scheduled Caste communities under Category-C.
The government said the decision follows the recent Cabinet meeting held in view of the interim order of the High Court. It was decided to temporarily adopt the 50 per cent overall reservation ceiling and continue recruitments subject to the final verdict of the court.
Accordingly, the 15 per cent SC reservation in recruitment and admissions will now be distributed among the three categories in the prescribed ratio.
The order further stated that 20 per cent of posts or seats available under Category-C must be reserved for 59 most backward castes within the Scheduled Castes. If eligible candidates from these 59 castes are not available, the vacancies or seats should be filled by candidates from other communities within Category-C.
For implementing the revised quota in recruitment, authorities have been directed to follow a 400-point roster system. Where fewer than three Scheduled Caste roster points are available in any cadre, the reserved posts should be treated as general SC category posts for appointment purposes.
The government has also directed departments to revise ongoing recruitment processes by incorporating internal reservation. Notifications already issued without such quota distribution are to be withdrawn and fresh revised notifications issued immediately.
The order added that if the court upholds the enhanced 24 per cent reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the additional 6 per cent posts should be treated as backlog vacancies and filled accordingly.
The government has instructed all recruiting authorities to take urgent steps to fill 56,432 posts already cleared by the Finance Department through direct recruitment.
