Basanagouda Ramanagouda Patil (Yatnal), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Karnataka, on Sunday raised doubts over the transparency of the newly formed SIT (special investigation team) set up to probe the alleged case of sexual exploitation by his colleague and former minister, Ramesh Jarkiholi.
“This is a big conspiracy and an organised plan to finish him (Jarkiholi) off. They (government) have just given the case to the SIT, which has started the investigation. But I have my doubts on how transparent this will be,” Yatnal, one of the staunchest critics of chief minister B.S Yediyurappa said in Vijayapura on Sunday.
Continuing his attacks on the chief minister and his son, B.Y Vijayendra, Yatnal said that SIT might not be the right agency to investigate the case and it should instead be handed to the CBI (central bureau of investigation).
“There is one official there (in the SIT) who listens to everything (BY) Vijayendra (Yediyurappa’s son) says,” Yatnal said.
The statements come a day after Jarkiholi filed an FIR against the alleged conspirators, who he claimed, tried to defame him and end his political career. Jarkiholi stepped down from his post in the cabinet after a social activist filed a complaint of sexual exploitation of an unnamed woman in the guise of providing her a government job.
A video of a person, appearing to be Jarkiholi, was seen getting intimate with the unnamed woman. The video was played on loop by Kannada TV channels in the state until the former minister got an order by the court barring most of the news outlets from doing so.
{{/usCountry}}A video of a person, appearing to be Jarkiholi, was seen getting intimate with the unnamed woman. The video was played on loop by Kannada TV channels in the state until the former minister got an order by the court barring most of the news outlets from doing so.
{{/usCountry}}An alleged phone call recording between Jarkiholi and the unnamed woman was also played, in which the person who is suspected to be the former minister is heard saying that Yediyurappa indulges in corruption.
The unnamed woman has since released a video statement, seeking protection for herself and her family, claiming they become a target of threats and intimidation since the incident.
Yatnal said the video came out right after Jarkiholi filed an FIR. He added that there are many such CDs (videos) of other political leaders in the “homes of the son of one BJP leader and one Congress leader”.
At least six ministers of Yediyurappa’s cabinet have sought injunctions from the court, prohibiting at least 68 entities, including Kannada news channels, papers, Twitter, Google and Facebook among others, from publishing, broadcasting or circulation of any content defamatory to them.
The alleged sex scandal, rise of Covid-19 cases, protests over demands for higher reservation by dominant caste groups have added to the challenges of Yediyurappa.