The SIT found no evidence to prosecute the sexual assault case filed by the woman, but found evidence to prosecute the woman and two others allegedly involved in the extortion of the BJP deputy, said sources.

The SIT has offered to file a B report or a closing report in the sexual assault case and an indictment in the extortion case. In the inquiries into the alleged sexual assault case, the inquest found no evidence to establish the woman’s claims that the minister offered her a job in the government to coerce her into having sex. The investigation found no evidence that the woman is seeking employment through the minister, as she claimed. It was found that she did not graduate in engineering as claimed, but dropped out of an engineering course during her sophomore year in college.

The investigation reportedly discovered that the woman had initially approached Jarkiholi, who was then Minister of Water Resources, under the pretext of being part of a studio and asked for permission to shoot videos of dams in the state and developed an intimacy with the minister thereafter.

Investigations into the extortion case, however, uncovered “a lot of evidence” pointing to a plot to trick the BJP deputy and secretly film his sex with the woman in order to extort money and blackmail. MP, sources said.

The probe retrieved a box for a mini camera, which was purchased and used for recording the minister’s sexual encounters with the woman, in the woman’s paid guest room. It was also discovered that a cell phone the woman used for her encounters with Jarkiholi was provided by two other suspects Naresh Gowda and Shravan Kumar – former media workers who are the main defendants in the extortion case. .

The investigation found that the woman did not approach Jarkiholi until after the other two suspects dragged her into a conspiracy. Sources said technical evidence was found to indicate that whenever the woman encountered Jarkiholi, the other suspects were in the vicinity of the meetings. On one occasion, following a meeting with Jarkiholi, the woman was overheard telling one of her associates on a cell phone, as she was leaving an apartment complex, that the job had been done, sources said.

The SIT has informed the Karnataka High Court of the completion of the investigation and is awaiting permission to file reports to a lower court on the findings of the investigation.

Jarkiholi, who was forced to resign as minister of the BJP government in March this year for rape, hopes to return to the state cabinet if the case against him closes. Last month, Jarkiholi, 60, launched a major campaign for his return to cabinet by meeting with key leaders of the BJP and the RSS and threatened to step down as an MP because of his discontent with the government of the State.

Jarkiholi alleged that he was ousted as a minister in the BJP government in Karnataka by rivals inside and outside the party who ganged up against him. A reinstatement in the government is aimed by Jarkiholi for a political victory over those who are at the origin of his ousting.

Initially, in March, Jarkiholi claimed that a CD that appeared in the public domain was a fake, but later provided a statement to SIT saying he had been trapped by a gang.

The SIT told a courtroom during an early bail hearing for the two former media workers (linked to the extortion case) that Jarkiholi provided a statement saying he was tricked by the honey.

“It is further argued in the objection that the Complainant Ramesh L Jarakiholi made another statement before the Respondent (SIT) recounting the sequence of events on how he was trapped by the said lady and the petitioners and the manner in which the petitioners snatched money from him, ”observed the Sessions Court in a June 8 order granting early bail.

The SIT in objecting to Naresh Gowda and Shravan’s early bail application said investigations revealed the two were part of an organized attempt to trap the former minister in a compromising situation for extortion.

The SIT formed by the government of Karnataka on the CD case was awarded three FIRs – one for sexual assault filed by the woman against Jarkiholi, a second for extortion filed against a gang of extortionists by the BJP MLA and a third for kidnapping filed by the woman’s father. . The SIT has so far filed a closing report in the kidnapping case filed by the woman’s father based on a statement made to a magistrate by the woman.