Siddaramaiah demands rape case against ex-minister Ramesh Jarkiholi, court- monitored probe
Bengaluru, Mar 22: Former chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday demanded in the Karnataka assembly registration of a rape case against BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, who quit as minister recently after allegations that he sexually harassed a woman 'job aspirant', and a court monitored probe.
The Leader of the Opposition claimed the woman in a video message had said she was "utilised" and thus it would amount to rape.
"I demand a rape case under section 376 of the IPC be registered against Ramesh Jarkiholi otherwise we can't do justice to the woman," Siddaramaiah said.
Jarkiholi, BJP MLA from Gokak, resigned as minister on March 3, after a social activist lodged a police complaint alleging sexual harassment to a 'job aspirant' and video clips purportedly showing their intimate moments surfaced.
Rejecting the charges, the BJP leader has claimed innocence, saying the videos were fake and vowed to send the 'conspirators' behind bars.
Social activist Dinesh Kallahalli had withdrawn the police complaint against Jarkiholi.
Raising the issue in the House, Siddaramaiah said "When the victim says she was utilised, it means there was no consent for the act. An act without consent is rape."
He said the police officers who failed to register a case should also face action.
Siddaramaiah charged Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai with writing a note to police based on a statement by Jarkiholi to form a SIT on March 9 without any term of condition though the former minister lodged a police complaint only on March 13 that he was blackmailed using a fake CD.
Intervening, veteran Congress member K R Ramesh Kumar said the complaint of such serious nature lodged by a former MLA on behalf of Jarkiholi should not have been accepted by the police.
Contending that the complaint lodged by Jarkiholi was untenable, Siddaramaiah demanded protection for the woman and a Karnataka High Court monitored investigation by an independent agency and not the SIT.
He also sought the resignation of six Ministers who obtained temporary court injunction against publishing of any defamatory materials against them in the media, including news channels and the newspapers.
"The ministers are under fear which is against their oath of discharging their duties without any fear or favour at the time of assuming office," Siddaramaiah said.
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SRH qualifies for IPL playoff after rain washes out match against GT
Hyderabad, May 16: Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday qualified for the Indian Premier League play-offs after rain washed out their IPL match against Gujarat Titans here without a ball being bowled.
SRH thus became the third team to make the cut after following Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, who are currently occupying the top two places in the standings.
The Sunrisers received one point to take their tally to 15 points with one match to go. They will face Punjab Kings, who have already been eliminated, on May 19 in their last league assignment.
GT, the last year's runners-up and 2022 champions, were knocked out of the play-off race after their previous match was also abandoned due to rain. They thus end the season with 12 points from 14 matches.
The toss didn't happen at scheduled time of 7 pm due to rain and wet outfield. The rain intensified before settling into a steady shower as the covers and outfield stayed covered.
The cut-off time for a five-over game was 10:56 PM, which meant the drizzle needed to stop for mop-up to begin by around 10:15pm but with rain showing no signs of abating, the official decided to abandon the match.
It is the second game to be called off in this IPL, because of rain and wet outfield.
Four teams -- Chennai Super Kings (14), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (12), Delhi Capitals (14) and Lucknow Super Giants (12) -- are still in fray for the battle for the last spot.
If LSG win against Mumbai Indians on Friday, they will move to 14 points to stay mathematically alive but CSK will seal the spot if they beat RCB or the game is washed out on Saturday.
If RCB beat CSK by at least 18 runs or 11 balls to spare then they will grab the fourth available spot on the basis of net run-rate as they would be on 14 points, same as DC, CSK and LSG (if they win).
๐๐ช๐ฃ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ are through to #TATAIPL 2024 Playoffs ๐งก
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 16, 2024
Which will be the final team to qualify ๐ค#TATAIPL | #SRHvGT | @SunRisers pic.twitter.com/6Z7h5kiI4o
