According to The Hindu, the woman who accused former Karnataka minister Ramesh Jarkiholi of sexual assault filed a police complaint via her lawyer on Friday. Police Commissioner Kamal Pant was presented with the complaint, which requested that the politician be charged.
Jarkiholi, a BJP leader, resigned as Karnataka’s water resources minister on March 3 after television stations broadcast photographs and played a video of a “sex CD” allegedly featuring him and the unidentified woman. In exchange for a government position, he allegedly abused the woman.
“I am facing a danger to my safety and that of my family, so please take reasonable action,” the woman wrote in her lawsuit. After promising her a government job, she accused Jarkiholi of sexual harassment, cheating, and threats. According to the petitioner, the former state minister even pressured her to exchange private photos and speak with him. Jarkiholi allegedly made the video to defame her in the event that she lodged a lawsuit, according to her.
According to The Hindu, her lawyer KN Jagadish Kumar was asked to file a complaint at the Cubbon Park police station after the complaint was presented to the police commissioner. Based on the complaint, the police lodged a first information report against Jarkiholi.
Kumar said he reached out to the complainant through Facebook and promised her legal help. The prosecutor further requested that the woman and her relatives be given legal rights.
“They are legitimately supporting her…she has filed a formal report, and we have sent to the police commissioner…she has been sexually exploited,” the prosecutor said.
Meanwhile, the complainant said in her third video interview, released on Friday, that Jarkiholi had lodged a lawsuit against her because she was seeking assistance from all sides. “I have the love of the people of Karnataka, as well as representatives of political parties and organizations. I’ve been living in fear of losing my life for the past 24 days. According to PTI, the woman said in the video, “Today I have some sort of bravery.”
Jarkiholi has denied the charges, alleging on March 9 that a top Karnataka politician wrongly accused him in the sex scandal, which cost him his political career and prestige.
The BJP leader also said that the woman in the video had strong links to the suspected conspirators, saying she “has been given an apartment abroad.” After he lodged a report, Bengaluru Police organised a Special Investigation Team to look into the matter.
After being unable to reach his daughter after March 2, the day the suspected tape was aired on local news outlets, the woman’s father filed a police report on March 16. He reported that his daughter had been kidnapped from her PG in Bengaluru and was being held hostage in an undisclosed location.
