Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Thursday that senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa will be arrested in the POCSO case if need be, adding that the state's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will decide on it.
A Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) case was filed against the former chief minister, alleging that he molested a 17-year-old girl.
On Wednesday, the CID summoned Yediyurappa to appear before questioning in connection with the sexual harassment case.
Meanwhile, Yediyurappa replied to the CID's notice, stating that he would be appearing for questioning on June 17, citing his presence in Delhi.
The girl's mother registered a complaint against Yediyurappa at Sadashivanagar police station on March 14. On the basis of the complaint, the police charged the senior BJP leader under the POCSO Act and IPC Section 354A (sexual harassment).
The mother alleged that the incident happened on February 2 this year, when they visited the senior BJP leader to seek help in a cheating case.
However, Yediyurappa has rejected the allegations, and called them "baseless".
The octogenarian BJP leader served as Karnataka's Chief Minister several times, between 2008 and 2011, briefly in May 2018, and again from 2019 to 2021. He tendered his resignation in 2021 after weeks of speculation and uncertainty
BS Yediyurappa was succeeded by the BJP's Basavaraj Somappa Bommai, who became the 23rd Chief Minister of Karnataka. Bommai served in the position from July 2021 to May 2023. The BJP has announced Bommai as its candidate from Haveri constituency for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
