Court Orders BS Yediyurappa’s Presence During Hearing of Child Molestation Case

Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa was issued a summon by a Bengaluru court to appear before it on July 15 in connection with a case filed against him for alleged sexual harassment of a minor girl.

The Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID) filed a chargesheet against the former CM on June 27.

As per the CID’s chargesheet, Yediyurappa sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl at his residence on February 2, 2024, when she and her mother visited him seeking help in a previous case of sexual assault against the girl.

The chargesheet claims that Yediyurappa took the girl to a room, locked the door, and molested her. When she resisted, he gave her some money and opened the door. The girl’s mother had recorded a confrontation with Yediyurappa on her iPhone, which is now crucial evidence in the case.

The chargesheet also accuses Yediyurappa and three of his aides, including an advocate and two close associates, of attempting to cover up the case by paying money to the victim and her mother to buy their silence.

Yediyurappa has been charged under Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, and Sections 354A (sexual harassment) and 214 (bribery to conceal offence) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Karnataka High Court restrained the CID from arresting Yediyurappa, allowing the prosecution to file objections to his petition seeking quashing of the FIR against him.