Sex CD scandal: Court-monitored probe a must

The sex CD scandal that has rocked Karnataka is not as simple as it appears and given the wide ramifications, it is imperative that the inquiry by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), ordered by the government, is monitored by the High Court, if the truth has to come out. The Madras High Court, for instance, had taken suo motu notice of a sexual harassment case involving a top Tamil Nadu police officer, and is monitoring the probe being conducted by the Crime Branch Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID). In the first place, the terms of reference to the SIT in the Ramesh Jarkiholi episode do not inspire any confidence as the mandate is to investigate the conspiracy angle, and not whether the girl in question was a victim of oppression. On the contrary, an attempt is being made to paint the victim as the villain. With the alleged survivor having surfaced through a video a few days ago and claiming that she was ‘used’ by Jarkiholi under the guise of providing her with a job, the police should have taken her statement into cognizance and registered a zero FIR, pending a formal complaint. The present inquiry appears to be a clear attempt to deal with immediate political exigencies and ultimately whitewash the whole controversy.

The issue assumes all the more seriousness as it goes well beyond the Jarkiholi tapes. While six ministers have obtained an injunction against the media from publishing/telecasting contents of any ‘fake’ video involving them, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai has informed the Legislative Assembly that there are 19 such CDs in all. Sometime ago, BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal had openly alleged that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa was forced to induct some legislators as ministers as he was blackmailed with a CD. There is every possibility that other ministers who allegedly feature in shady videos could have been blackmailed too, either for money or for government projects. It is also strange why Jarkiholi failed to file a police complaint when he has claimed that he was aware of the existence of the CD four months ago. A special audit into the projects cleared by all these ministers would thus be in order.

Irrespective of the authenticity of the CDs, it also needs to be investigated if an organised gang is involved in extortion, either by laying honey traps or through doctored videos. Are ministers involved in sexual harassment or consensual sex-for-favour deals? Is there a political conspiracy? Are big corporates involved? Such weighty questions can be answered not by an SIT which is under the direct control of the government, but only by a court-monitored probe.