Karnataka Congress demands arrest of BJP’s tainted MLA

The Karnataka Congress demanded the arrest of the ruling BJP’s tainted MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, who resigned as a minister in early March after allegedly surfacing indecent videos with a woman. State Congress President D.K. “We urge the state Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai to arrest Jarkiholi as he was caught in a pornographic video with a woman,” Shivakumar said. The woman accused him of raping her on the pretext of getting a government job.

On March 3, a day after this video went viral on social media, Zarakiholi resigned as the state’s water resources minister. It was also aired on local news channels on 2 March.
Jarkiholi was re-elected from Gokak assembly seat in Belagavi district in November 2019 after splitting from the Congress and joining the BJP. He became a cabinet minister in February 2020.

Angered by the state government’s alleged apathy towards the plight of the victim, Sivakumar said that it is a shame that after the state police were charged under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in a case of alleged rape on a woman’s complaint Jarakiholi is also allowed to roam free.

However, in mid-March, an FIR was lodged against Jarakiholi on the victim’s complaint and he was questioned by the investigation team.
Shivakumar said, the police are acting on the directions of the ruling party rather than following the law.
During the budget session of the Legislative Assembly during March, Jarakiholi was admitted to the hospital after being found to be Covid positive and advised to rest at home after being discharged.