Karnataka HC stays BS Yediyurappa's arrest in POCSO case

In Karnataka, former chief minister BS Yediyurappa got Court protection but newly inducted union minster's son is booked for blackmailing couple.The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted protection from arrest to former Chief Minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa in a sexual harassment case until June 17, when the court will hear the matter.The court's relief for Yediyurappa comes a day after a Bengaluru court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him in a POCSO case for allegedly molesting a minor girl.
A case against the 81-year-old leader was filed on complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl, who alleged that he molested her daughter during a meeting on February 2 this year at his residence in Dollars Colony in Bengaluru.The former Chief Minister moved the High Court seeking to quash the complaint, which is being probed by a Special Investigation Team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The probe team had also asked Yediyurappa to append before it and join the probe.It also directed the veteran BJP leader to appear before CID, which is probing the case, on June 17. The complaint against Yediyurappa was registered this year in March.
An FIR has been lodged against Arun Somanna, the son of Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti, V Somanna, following a complaint by a couple alleging blackmail and life threats. The FIR was registered as per the direction of the 37th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) in Bengaluru.It also names two other individuals, Jeevan Kumar, a resident of Dasarahalli, and Pramod Rao, a resident of Hebbal.
The petition was filed by Trupthi, a resident of Sanjaynagar in Bengaluru. She has alleged that the accused committed fraud in an event management company and issued life threats to her and her husband, Madhwaraj. The FIR states that Trupthi and Madhwaraj ran an event management company for 23 years. Arun Somanna was introduced to Madhwaraj in 2013 at a government function. The company also organised the birthday party of Arun Somanna’s daughter in 2017.The Sanjaynagar police have filed the FIR under IPC Sections 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation), 34 (Criminal acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 504 (punishment for insulting someone intentionally to provoke them),387 (Putting or attempting to put a person in fear of death or grievous hurt in order to commit extortion), 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 477A (Falsification of accounts), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 327 (Voluntarily causing hurt to extort property, or to constrain to an illegal act), and 354D (Stalking).

(State Correspondent)