E-Paper
Woman who said Jarkiholi abused her abducted: Kin
The woman’s family on Wednesday released a video of their own, requesting the government to help trace their daughter. In this video, the woman’s mother said her daughter’s photographs were morphed before the video circulated by her harassers was aired on news channels.
A woman who was allegedly sexually exploited by former Karnataka minister Ramesh Jarkiholi has been abducted from a hostel in Bengaluru, her father said in a police complaint in Belagavi on Tuesday night. The father added that unidentified people threatened, sexually harassed, and tortured his daughter, and that the same people circulated an unverified video of people resembling her and the minister.
The woman’s family on Wednesday released a video of their own, requesting the government to help trace their daughter. In this video, the woman’s mother said her daughter’s photographs were morphed before the video circulated by her harassers was aired on news channels.
“After seeing the video on television, I called her and told her and said that there is a video of someone like her on television. But she said she hadn’t seen it. Later she said that it’s not her, and they have morphed her photo,” the mother said in the video, adding that she asked her daughter to return home, but she said could not because of a threat to her life.
“After that, when I called her again, she said she was safe. She used to keep messaging my sons, but one day she asked us not to contact her because her phone is being monitored. When my son called her again, the phone was switched off,” she said.
The day after her phone could not be reached, the woman released a video saying that there was a threat to her and her family’s life. “After this video, we discussed among ourselves and filed an FIR asking the police to find our daughter,” the mother added in the video.
The family has not taken the minister’s name in the video.
Belagavi police commissioner K Thiyagarajan told HT that the complaint was filed with the APMC police station on Tuesday, but no FIR was registered so far. “We are seeking legal opinion on the matter. We are collecting information from the family,” he said. Since the complaint says the alleged abduction took place in Bengaluru, the officer added that the case could be transferred to Bengaluru Police.
Bengaluru’s police commissioner Kamal Pant said on Wednesday that they had not received any information from the Belagavi Police so far.
Jarkiholi resigned from the state cabinet a day after allegations of sexual exploitation surfaced against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Gokak in Belagavi district on March 3. In his resignation letter, Jarkiholi said the allegations against him were “far from the truth”. The resignation came after Dinesh Kalahalli, a social activist, filed a police complaint in Bengaluru as the video went viral. Kalahalli claimed Jarkiholi promised the woman a job and exploited her. The complaint was later withdrawn.
Jarkiholi has separately given a statement to a special investigation team (SIT) saying a group of people, including a Tumakuru-based journalist, tried to extort money from him. They released the video on social media when he refused to pay, he said. Last week, the Bengaluru Police registered a case of conspiracy and blackmailing against unknown persons based on a complaint by Jarkoholi.
Jarkiholi was dropped from the Kumaraswamy government over non-performance in 2018. He is one of five powerful Jarkiholi brothers who wield significant influence in the border district of Belagavi, about 508km from Bengaluru.
A senior legislator of the BJP, who did not wish to be identified, said that the party’s stand is to keep its distance from the case, as it is under investigation.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president Eshwar Khandre said that the “inaction” on the abduction complaint by the woman’s father points to the lack of trust in the SIT. “The victim has become the accused in the case. The government has created the SIT to protect a minister who has misused power,” Khandre said.
An NGO in Bengaluru on Wednesday filed a petition before the Karnataka high court, alleging that the investigation in the alleged sex tape case involving Jarkiholi violated the provisions of the Nirbhaya Act, 2013.
Adarsh Iyer of the Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath said that the contents of the complaint filed by Kalahalli requires an FIR under section 376(C) of the Indian Penal Code. “The failure of the police to file an FIR could invite imprisonment under section 166,” said Iyer.
