The Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Thursday filed a chargesheet against BJP veteran and former chief minister and BS Yediyurappa in connection with the POCSO case, a report said. He will now face trial before a special court in Bengaluru, it added.
Yediyurappa, 81, has been charged under Section 8 of the POCSO Act, which prescribes punishment for sexual assault of a minor. He also faces charges under the IPC section 354A (sexual harassment); section 204 (destruction of evidence) and section 214 (offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender), Indian Express said in a report.
Under Section 8 of the POCSO Act, a person can be handed a mandatory minimum sentence of three years which can be extended up to five years in jail, the report added.
Earlier this month, the Karnataka High Court had directed the police not to arrest the former Chief Minister in connection with the case after a non-bailable warrant was issued against him. The court had also asked the BJP leader to cooperate with the probe agency.
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.
BSY reportedly moved the HC seeking anticipatory bail after the minor’s family filed a fresh plea alleging that the CID investigation was not speedy, Indian Express said. Both the cases are expected to be taken up together on Friday, it added.
