Yediyurappa POCSO case: A mother's 42-day struggle to file an FIR

Even as a POCSO case against former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has put the BJP on the back foot, it has come to light that the complainant had a difficult time getting the FIR filed. In fact, she could do it only after a certain national leader and a state minister intervened.

In the complaint, the mother of the accused, a 17-year-old girl, has accused Yediyurappa of molesting her daughter when they went to meet him with their grievances. While a case under the POCSO Act was filed against the BJP leader in the early hours of March 15, the Siddaramaiah government in the state has now asked to conduct a CID case against him.

The allegations have put Yediyurappa – who was preoccupied with meetings to select candidates for the Lok Sabha elections and was facing backlash from sitting MPs and aspirants who were denied tickets – on the defensive.

Intervention by ‘third person’

Sources told The Federal that the mother-daughter duo initially had to run from pillar to post to get the complaint filed. While the Sanjay Nagar Police Station reportedly refused to file an FIR citing jurisdictional issues, the duo finally filed it with the Sadashivanagar Police Station.

Even though the police recorded the time of FIR registration as 10 pm (of Thursday night), sources say it was actually filed in the wee hours of Friday (March 15).

They say Bengaluru Police was initially reluctant to register the case and filed it only after a “third person,” said to be a national leader, intervened to facilitate the process.

What the FIR says

The chain of events began on February 2, approximately 42 days ago.

According to sources, the mother, a BJP worker known to Yediyurappa and other leaders for her party work, approached him, seeking help regarding two issues. She alleged that a case of sexual assault on her daughter a few years ago was not being investigated properly. She also alleged that the relative of a prominent national leader was involved in a cheating case in which thousands of crores of money were swindled by a businessman.

In her complaint to the Home Secretary of the Union government and as detailed in the FIR, the woman, hailing from Shikaripura, also Yediyurappa’s hometown, said she had gone to the BJP leader’s house that day to discuss both the issues with him.

“Yediyurappa already knew me as I have been fighting for justice for the past nine years for my minor daughter who was raped. I also requested Yediyurappa to support me in claiming my share of the mediated cash deal (in the cheating case) and provided him with the necessary documents,” the woman alleged in her complaint.

She said that she also wanted to urge the BJP leader to call for an SIT probe into the issue.

‘She called him grandpa, he molested her’

In her complaint, the woman said that Yediyurappa spoke with them for nine minutes. He then spoke with her daughter, who used to address him as thaatha (grandfather), and later took her to a room where he allegedly molested her.

The complainant said the girl escaped from the room and came running out. She later narrated the ordeal to her mother. When the mother confronted Yediyurappa, he purportedly assured her of his assistance in the case, claiming that the girl was like his granddaughter.

The FIR says that it was the first time the mother recorded her conversation with Yediyurappa.

‘Ran from pillar to post'

From that point onward, the mother and daughter tried various avenues to register a case against the BJP bigwig, but received no response from authorities, the complaint alleged.

The mother in the FIR said that she tried to lodge a complaint during a meeting of state Home Minister G Parameshwara with the Bengaluru police commissioner, but could only manage to hand over a copy of the complaint to the latter. She said the complaint, however, did not elicit any response from the police.

She later wrote letters about Yediyurappa's alleged actions to the Union Home Ministry and Rashtrapati Bhavan. She also attempted to contact Siddaramaiah and several other Congress and BJP leaders, but did not receive any response, the complainant said.

She was allegedly turned away by the Sanjay Nagar Police who cited jurisdictional constraints when the woman approached them to file an FIR on Thursday. When she went to the Sadashivanagar Police Station to get the complaint filed, the woman alleged that initially policemen showed little interest in filing the FIR.

It was only after a senior leader from a national party and a “minister in the state government” spoke to the police commissioner that a case was filed against Yediyurappa under POCSO, she said in the FIR.

Attempts to influence police: Sources

Sources say several attempts were made by Yedirurappa’s supporters to influence the police to not file the case. On the other hand, several leaders from two other political parties reportedly urged the police to file the FIR.

It is also said that after the top police brass instructed the Sadashivanagar police to register the case, they provided security to the victim and her mother, took them to an undisclosed location, and filed the case.

After the FIR was filed and the news broke in the media, Yediyurappa said that he would abide by the law as he has not committed any wrongdoing. Even Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar proceeded cautiously in his statement on the matter.