POCSO Act case: Bengaluru court issues summons to BS Yediyurappa to appear on July 15
Bengaluru, Jul 4: A Bengaluru court on Thursday issued summons to former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to appear before it on July 15 in connection with a POCSO Act case filed against him.
The Criminal Investigation Department had filed a charge sheet against the BJP leader at Fast Track Court 1 for POCSO Act cases here on June 27.
A day later, the Karnataka High Court extended its interim order restraining the CID from arresting Yediyurappa after allowing the prosecution to file objections to the petition filed by him seeking quashing of the FIR against him, and then adjourned a further hearing by two weeks.
The CID, probing charges against Yediyurappa of sexually assaulting a minor girl, has alleged in the charge sheet that he and three other accused paid money to the alleged victim and her mother to buy their silence.
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The 81-year-old Yediyurappa has been charged under Section 8 (punishment for sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 204 (destruction of document or electronic record to prevent its production as evidence) and 214 (offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The other three co-accused -- Arun Y M, Rudresh M and G Mariswamy who are aides of Yediyurappa -- are charged under IPC Sections 204 and 214, in the charge sheet.
The case was registered on March 14 this year based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl who alleged that Yediyurappa sexually assaulted her daughter during a meeting on February 2 at his residence in Dollars Colony here.
Yediyurappa was questioned for over three hours by the CID on June 17.
The 54-year-old victim's mother, who had leveled the charge against Yediyurappa, died at a private hospital here in May, due to lung cancer.
Yediyurappa has denied the charge and said he would fight the case legally.
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Gold smuggling racket busted at Bengaluru airport, 5 arrested
Bengaluru (PTI): The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a major international gold smuggling syndicate operating through Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru following a coordinated operation, according to an official statement.
Five people have been arrested so far in connection with the case and efforts are underway to identify the key masterminds and dismantle the entire network, officials said.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, officers of the DRI’s Bengaluru Zonal Unit mounted surveillance at Terminal 2 of the airport, leading to the interception of a network involving foreign nationals and local facilitators.
The operation, conducted over April 6 and 7, culminated in the seizure of 3.356 kg of high-purity gold worth about Rs 5 crore in paste form.
“The officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Bengaluru Zonal Unit, have successfully busted a major international gold smuggling syndicate operating through Kempegowda International Airport (KIAL), Bengaluru,” the agency said in a press release.
Officials said the contraband was ingeniously concealed in paste form inside capsule-shaped packets, highlighting the sophisticated methods adopted by the syndicate.
Investigations revealed that carriers arriving from abroad deliberately chose Bengaluru as a transit point, exploiting longer layovers to facilitate covert transfers within the airport premises.
“The gold was concealed on the body and transferred using a pre-arranged passcode system inside sensitive areas such as washrooms and smoking zones, thereby bypassing Customs scrutiny,” the statement said.
The use of coded exchanges within restricted zones enabled the syndicate to evade routine checks, it said, adding that the probe also uncovered insider involvement within the airport ecosystem.
“The syndicate had further infiltrated the airport ecosystem, with the involvement of an insider who misused authorised access to restricted zones to receive and smuggle out the contraband,” the DRI said.
The operation also revealed the use of encrypted communication platforms featuring coded messages and disappearing chats.
Authorities said preliminary investigations indicate the involvement of a wider international network.
“Preliminary investigation indicates that the network is part of a larger cross-border smuggling syndicate involving foreign operatives, suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals, working in tandem with domestic handlers and facilitators,” the DRI said.
Officials said the case reflects the increasing sophistication of smuggling operations and reiterated that the agency remains committed to curbing such organised economic offences.
