Sexual exploitation case:SIT questions Jarkiholi for four hours

Bengaluru: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday questioned former Karnataka minister Ramesh Jarikohi over the alleged sexual exploitation case. Officers’ familiar with the development said that the minister was questioned for four hours at the Bengaluru police’s technical cell in Adugodi.

A senior officer in the SIT said that in the on-camera questioning, more than 50 questions were asked to the former minister. Jariholi told SIT officials that he was aware of the tape for four months but didn’t pay attention to it.

“When the video was shown to him, he said that it was fake. He claimed that he doesn’t know the woman in the video. When the call records between him and woman were presented, he repeated that he doesn’t know the woman,” said an SIT officer.

Jarkiholi went on to add that the tape was released as a part of a political conspiracy and asked the SIT to probe into it. He said that a call for ransom came through a legislator. However, SIT didn’t reveal the name of the legislator.

Jarkiholi resigned from the state cabinet a day after allegations of sexual exploitation surfaced against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Gokak in Belagavi district on March 3. Subsequently, he had filed a complaint alleging extortion.

Meanwhile, the SIT on Friday served notices to three people — the woman who accused the former state minister Ramesh Jarkiholi of sexual exploitation and two absconding journalists Naresh Gowda and Shravan, who are wanted for involvement in the case.

On Thursday, Naresh Gowda released a video message claiming innocence. On March 12, the SIT questioned Gowda for his alleged involvement in leaking the video. Gowda has since been absconding.

In the video, he claimed that he did not appear before the investigating officers because he believed he will be fixed in the case. “My name has been dragged into the alleged sexual exploitation case involving former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi. There is a systematic effort to fix my involvement in the case,” said Gowda.

Meanwhile, social activist Dinesh Kallahalli, who filed a complaint against Jarkiholi, had submitted a three-page written statement to SIT on Friday, responding to the notice issued to him. In his response, he said that a journalist he knew for many years approached him with the video allegedly of the minister. He added that hat the woman in the CD is a friend of the journalist who approached him.

On Wednesday, a Bengaluru-based non-government organisation (NGO) had filed a petition before the Karnataka High Court, claiming the investigation in the alleged sexual exploitation case involving the former state minister violated the provisions of the Nirbhaya Act, 2013.