Activist withdraws sex-for-job complaint against BJP lawmaker -

Dinesh Kallahalli said he was hurt by allegations of extortion raised by former chief minister and Janata Dal Secular leader H.D. Kumaraswamy

Karnataka minister Ramesh Jarkiholi.: File picture

TT  |   Bangalore   |   08.03.21 : A social activist who recently released video clips of a sex-for-job scam that forced the resignation of Karnataka minister Ramesh Jarkiholi has sought to withdraw his police complaint against the BJP lawmaker allegedly because he was accused of extortion.

Dinesh Kallahalli told reporters on Sunday that he was hurt by allegations of extortion raised by former chief minister and Janata Dal Secular leader H.D. Kumaraswamy.

Kumaraswamy had on Friday said that the release of the incriminating video clips was part of an extortion bid by Kallahalli.

The video clips released last week showed a man resembling Jarkholi in a compromising position with a young woman in what appeared to be a hotel room. While Jarkiholi had later pleaded innocence and claimed he had no idea about the woman, the BJP leadership forced him to resign to avoid further embarrassment.

A lawyer representing Kallahalli went to Cubbon Road police station on Sunday and handed over a hand-written application seeking the withdrawal of his (Kallahalli’s) complaint that had sought a detailed investigation into the video clips released on March 2.

In the application, Kallahalli said another reason that drove him to withdraw his complaint was the interest of the victim and expressed disappointment over the video clips finding way to social media where it was being widely circulated.

“In my complaint I had only sought an investigation to see if there was sexual harassment (of the victim). But the whole thing backfired on me and the victim with people casting aspersions on our intentions,” he said in the letter.

“Instead of supporting me, many opted to shoot the messenger,” he lamented citing how he was only a messenger who released the video clips on behalf of the family members of the victim.

The minister had allegedly taken advantage of the woman by promising her a government job but failed to keep his promise.

A city court had on Friday restrained media from broadcasting or printing images from the video clips. The court passed the order after hearing an injunction suit Jarkiholi’s lawyers had filed on Wednesday.

The court also gave temporary injunction to six Karnataka ministers who had sought a media gag against publishing any defamatory material against them. The ministers, Shivaram Hebbar, BC Patil, ST Somashekar, K Sudhakar, KC Narayana Gowda, and Byrathi Basavaraj were part of the 17 lawmakers, that included Jarkiholi, who quit the JDS-Congress coalition in 2019 and defected to BJP leading the collapse of the government.

This follows speculations in political circles that several audio or video clips have surfaced in the state. But their exact nature is not known.