Former minister and Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi on Monday appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT), at the Interrogation Cell in Adugodi, in connection with the CD scandal case.
Jarkiholi was questioned by the SIT officials for about four hours from 10 am to 2 pm. The officials found that the answers provided by Jarkiholi were not satisfactory and have asked the BJP MLA to appear again on April 2.
Sources in SIT revealed to DH that Jarkiholi asked for four days' time to reply to their questions. Further, he also asked the officials to investigate the case filed by him at Sadashivanagar police station.
One of the officials, who was present during the interrogation, said that the former minister repeated most of the issues that he had already recorded previously.
Ramesh Jarkiholi is said to have stuck to his argument that the CD itself was fake and that he does not know the woman in person. However, when the officials confronted him with supporting evidence, including call details records and unedited footage, Ramesh reportedly told the officials that he would require some time to reply to the questions.
Earlier in the day, Ramesh was greeted with protest by a few Kannada organisations when the former minister reached the SIT cell. After recording his statement, the BJP legislator exited the SIT cell through the back gate.
The senior officials, including Sandeep Patil, joint commissioner of police (Crime), Ravi Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (Crime), and Cubbon Park police questioned Jarkiholi. The former minister had already been questioned twice by the SIT officials with respect to his complaint at Sadashivanagar police station against unknown persons.