Bengaluru:

Soon after the Karnataka High Court halted the arrest of former Karnataka Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yediyurappa under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), party leader and former state CM Basavraj Bommai termed it “justifiable” and claimed that it was a “conspiracy”. “He (Yediyurappa) was not involved in such things and it was a conspiracy. Already, he had appeared before the investigation agency and answered all their questions. Since Yediyurappa has good behaviour, the court has taken note of it and given temporary relief that is justifiable and would be welcomed. Yediyurappa would win the legal battle and emerge victorious”, Bommai told reporters in Karnataka’s Bengaluru.

Earlier, Bommai said that the case against Yediyurappa looks like a deep-rooted political conspiracy and a peek into its background would confirm it. “The authorities concerned sat quiet for three months and then issued a warrant asking him to appear within a day, proving that there were serious lapses before issuing the warrant. Previously, many cases had been filed against him and he had won all those cases in the Supreme Court. All of them were false cases that had been filed against him even while relinquishing the CM post. In most countries, efforts would be made to tie politicians to politics by filing false cases. We are confident that Yediyurappa will come out clean in all the cases,” said the BJP leader.

Earlier today, the Karnataka HC issued an order stating that coercive proceedings of arrest and detention will be kept on hold until the next date of hearing. The order of the Karnataka HC follows a letter from the petitioner (Yediyurappa) volunteering to appear before police on June 17.

Earlier on Thursday, a Bengaluru court issued a non-bailable warrant against the former Karnataka CM, directing his immediate arrest in connection with sexual assault against a minor girl under the POCSO act, which deals with sexual assault cases against minors. Earlier in March, the mother of the victim filed a complaint against the former Chief Minister at the Sadashivanagar police station in Bengaluru, alleging that the latter had sexually assaulted her daughter. In this regard, the brother of the victim filed a petition in court against Yediyurappa.

BS Yediyurappa applied for anticipatory bail at a special court, (People Representative Court) seeking prevention from arrest in the POCSO Act filed against him, according to a statement from his office. Reportedly, Yediyurappa is presently in the national capital.