Honeytrap allegations by K’taka minister are ‘baseless’, claims sources as CID submits report
Bengaluru: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has completed its investigation into the “honeytrap” allegations made by the Karnataka Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna and submitted its report to the state government, sources confirmed on Thursday.
The report has concluded that the allegations of attempted honeytrap against Minister Rajanna are baseless, sources added.
Sources also said that the CID has submitted the report to the Union Home Ministry after concluding its investigation.
The issue had triggered a major controversy in the state politics during March this year.
Minister Rajanna had made a statement on the floor of the Assembly, claiming that three attempts were made to honeytrap him.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had protested the statement and demanded a thorough probe.
Following the chaos in the Assembly, the Congress-led state government suspended 18 BJP MLAs, and Marshals had to lift them out of the House.
The suspension of the BJP MLAs was revoked recently.
Minister Rajanna had met Home Minister G. Parameshwara and demanded an investigation into the matter.
The issue took a new turn when discussions began surfacing about the possible involvement of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar in the honeytrap attempts.
Minister Rajanna, a close confidant of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, had demanded that Shivakumar be removed as the State Congress President and had even offered to resign and assume the post himself.
He also publicly supported the view that if the Chief Minister were to be replaced, a Dalit leader should be appointed to the post.
Interestingly, Minister Rajanna remained silent and stopped attacks on Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar following the escalation of the controversy surrounding the alleged honeytrap attempts.
Sources revealed that Minister Rajanna did not provide any concrete evidence to the CID and claimed that he did not recognise or know anyone involved.
He reportedly told the CID that when an attempt was made to hold his hand, he slapped the girl and sent her out.
There was no CCTV installed at his residence, and no entry related to the incident was recorded in the official visitor’s registry.
Based on these findings, CID officials concluded that Minister Rajanna’s allegations were unfounded.
Meanwhile, Home Minister G. Parameshwara while speaking in Bengaluru on Thursday, said, “I have not seen the CID report on Minister K.N. Rajanna’s allegations of attempts to honeytrap him yet. The issue was highlighted by the media. The answer is given by the CID now. I don’t know what’s in the report.”
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition and veteran BJP leader R. Ashoka said that Minister Rajanna had alleged inside the Assembly that there was a honeytrap attempt on him and his family, and he also claimed to have evidence to support it while demanding an investigation.
“However, just like other investigations initiated since the Congress government came to power in the state, this case too has lost momentum,” he added.
“Minister Rajanna, if your allegation is true and you indeed possess strong evidence, then urge Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister Parameshwara to hand over the case to the CBI for investigation. Otherwise, if your allegation is false, then you must apologise to the people of the state for making a false statement inside the temple of democracy — the Assembly,” LoP Ashoka said.
When asked about the CID report stating that there is no evidence in Minister Rajanna’s honeytrap allegation, Deputy CM Shivakumar said, “I have nothing to do with that. I don’t know who filed the complaint or how the investigation was conducted. I’m hearing about it now from the media. I know nothing about it.”
