The father of the woman who accused former Karnataka Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi of sexual harassment held a press conference in Belagavi on Monday to give out details about his daughter’s whereabouts. Pinning the blame on Congress leader DK Shivakumar, the woman’s father alleged that she is under the leader’s custody and is being pressurized into giving statements, reported New Indian Express.
Lambasting the Congress leader, he said, “DK Shivakumar has sent our daughter to Goa by giving her some money. She is under his custody and speaking whatever she has been taught by him.”
Informing the reporters that his daughter has been held against her will, he requested the government to get her released and give them her custody.
The woman’s father is also not in favour of her daughter directly appearing before the court to record her statements. While speaking to the media, he said, “My daughter should not be made to appear before a judge now. Bring her home just for four days after she arrives in Bengaluru. Otherwise, the court should give her a four-day break before her statement is recorded. There are possibilities that she may not give the correct statement since she is under huge pressure now. She may talk as instructed by DK Shivakumar in the court.”
Raising suspicion as to why he wants his daughter to be home before appearing in court, he reiterated that he would not try to influence her daughter’s thoughts and it is only for her safety.
He clarified, “She needs to relax for some days. We, as parents, will counsel her to not speak anything under pressure. All the statements she made till now seem spoken under pressure. Therefore, the court should direct the police to go for parental counselling. The court may even instruct the cops to allow her to visit home for some days as she has been away for the past 20 days.”
“I am a retired soldier and I am capable of taking care of her. The political leaders are using my daughter as their puppet”, he added.
The family’s statement came after the reports of their daughter appearing before a judge to record her statement surfaced in media. The woman’s lawyer has moved an application of requisition before a magistrate court.
The woman’s inconsolable mother urged that she just wants her daughter back. She informed the media that her daughter was promised a job. “She told me four months ago that someone related to Shivakumar will get her the job”, she said.
After the woman’s alleged scandal clips started making rounds in media on March 2nd, she informed her mother over the phone that the videos were morphed and edited. Since then, she has not been in touch with the family as her phone has been taken away, the mother alleged.
The woman’s brother also alleged that his sister is acting as per DK Shivakumar’s order and being pressurized to issue statements. He said the video statements that have been released so far were all made under pressure.
The family said they had full faith in the police and judiciary system and that their daughter should be freed from the pressure and torture.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar rubbished all the allegations by the woman’s family and claimed he has nothing to do with the case. He demanded that the family should produce proof of the allegations made and give it to the police officers for investigation.
The woman in question had filed an FIR against former BJP leader Ramesh Jarkiholi at the Cubbon Park police station in Bengaluru in the sex CD scandal. She had filed a two-page complaint at the commissioner’s office through her advocate KM Jagadish alleging that she feared for her safety.
Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was Water Resources Minister in the Yediyurappa cabinet, resigned on March 3, a day after news channels aired videos of the alleged sex scandal. While Jarkiholi has repeatedly claimed his innocence and that the video was “fake”, the woman had accused him of sexually “using” her, cheating and threatening her after promising a government job.