Daijiworld Media Network – Puttur (SP)

Puttur, May 10: Speaking at a press conference here and also at Vittal on Sunday May 9, former union minister, B Janardan Poojary, said that the first step the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will be taking if the rape charge relating to former state minister, Halappa, is referred to it, would be to arrest state Chief Minister, B S Yeddyurappa. “Once a man is charged with an offence, it is up to the courts to decide whether he is innocent or not. By coming to the rescue of the tainted minister, the Chief Minister, who called the rape accused and director general of police together for a discussion, has tried to protect the guilty. Under section 201, he can be punished with a jail sentence up to three years,” Poojary, himself a lawyer, reasoned.

He said that it was expected of the Chief Minister (CM), Yeddyurappa, to hand over Halappa to the police, as soon as the case came out in the open. “If he had done that, he could have been considered an efficient CM. Instead, he asked Halappa to escape from the clutches of law. The criminal investigation department had to paste notices at the doors of his home and office. It would be difficult to believe that the Karnataka police, who caught Nityananda Swamy from his hideout in Himachal Pradesh, could not find Halappa,” he commented. He felt that an investigation should be ordered into the working of the police department.

He criticized the state government for launching an investigation into the antecedents of the complainant instead of arresting Halappa. “Why have the policemen not questioned Halappa’s wife about his whereabouts? Why was the government car used for leaving the house of the complainant after rape, not seized? Why Basavaraj and other persons accused of threatening the car driver and the complainants, not arrested and interrogated? The clothes used that day should have been used as the main evidences, but they would have been burnt down by now. The CM needs to be patted for supporting a rape-accused,” Poojary said, sarcastically.

Poojary hailed the role of the media in bringing out the misdemeanours of Halappa.

Various Congress leaders were present.