Molesting minor girl; non-bailable arrest warrant issued against former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa under POCSO act

BENGALURU: A non-bailable arrest warrant has been issued against former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa in the case of molesting a minor girl. The arrest warrant was issued by the Bengaluru fast-track POCSO court. Yediyurappa was given a notice to appear for questioning before the investigating team in the POCSO case earlier. Yediyurappa had replied that he would appear on Monday as he was not in Bengaluru.

However, the investigation team told the court that the charge sheet should be submitted before June 15 and Yediyurappa's statement should be recorded since it is a POCSO case. The court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant after Yediyurappa did not respond to the notice issued by the investigating team. Meanwhile, Yediyurappa approached the Karnataka High Court seeking protection from arrest. The plea will be heard tomorrow.

The complaint is that a 17-year-old girl, who came to the house with her mother on February 2, was sexually harassed. The 54-year-old mother had filed a complaint against Yediyurappa. The 54-year-old died of lung cancer last month. The complainant's lawyer had earlier filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court seeking the arrest of Yediyurappa.