CID issues notice to BJP leader Yediyurappa in POCSO case

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: The Criminal Investigation De par tment (CID) has issued a notice to senior BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to appear before its probe team for an inquiry in connection with a POCSO case registered against him, police sources said on Wednesday.

Yediyurappa is presently in Delhi, and he is likely to join the probe after he returns, sources close to him said.

According to police, Yediyurappa has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (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 sexually assaulted her daughter during a meeting on February two this year.

On March 14, hours after the Sadashivanagar police registered the case, the Karnataka Director General of Police Alok Mohan issued an order transferring it to the CID for further investigation with immediate effect.

The 54-year-old woman, who had leveled the charge against Yediyurappa, died at a private hospital here last month due to lung cancer. The 81-year-old Yediyurappa has denied the charge and said he would fight the case legally.

"The CID had sent a notice yesterday asking him to appear today. However, since he is presently in Delhi, he has sought time. He will appear before the police after three days," a party source said.

The CID has already recorded the statement of the victim and her mother under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), police added.