The Karnataka High Court on Friday directed the police not to arrest former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in connection with the POCSO case till the next hearing on June 17.
A non-bailable warrant was issued against Yediyurappa relating to the alleged sexual harassment of a minor on Thursday.
Also Read | POCSO case: Bengaluru court issues non-bailable arrest warrant against Yediyurappa
The court had also asked the BJP leader to cooperate with the probe agency.
Since he failed to appear for the questioning on Wednesday, the Special Investigation Team of the CID had moved the First Fast Track Court seeking an arrest warrant against him.
Yediyurappa had sought time to join the probe. His son son B.Y. Raghvendra had said that there was "no truth" in the complaint.
Reportedly, the veteran BJP leader has gone to an undisclosed location in New Delhi.
BJP on Thursday accused the Congress of hatching conspiracy against the BJP leader. "Shocked by the humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leaders are engrossed in hatching one conspiracy after another against the BJP," BJP Karnataka wrote on X.
"Congress, resentful towards the BJP, is now attempting to arrest our respected leader BS Yediyurappa, based on a complaint from a mentally unstable woman. This comes after Rahul Gandhi faced court proceedings for spreading misinformation against BJP in Karnataka," it added.
According to police, Yediyurappa has been booked under the POCSO Act and Section 354 A (Sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl who alleged that he molested her daughter during a meeting on February two this year, at his residence in Dollars Colony.
The Sadashivanagar police registered the case against Yediyurappa on March 14 and the investigation was handed over to the CID on the same day.
