CID sleuths have given former Excise Minister HY Meti a clean chit in the sex scandal case. The scandal had cost him his cabinet berth.
Submitting a report to the Karnataka Home Ministry on Wednesday, the agency had stated that the video was doctored.
In addition, the CID has stated that no official complaint was filed against Meti in any police station.
“I am happy and relieved that the CID has given me a clean chit. Neither I nor CM Siddaramaiah tried to influence the CID probe. The report confirms that the CD was doctored. I have always maintained that I did not do anything wrong and now it has been proved,” HY Meti told media persons after his name was cleared.
A CD of the former Excise Minister had surfaced in the media on December 11, 2016, where he was allegedly seen having sex with a woman.
Meti had quit after the local media went to town with the CD allegedly featuring him and a government employee, Vijayalakshmi.
The woman had initially accused Meti of seeking sexual favours from her for a transfer and for her contract to be made permanent.
On December 11, 2016, regional TV channel BTV aired an interview of Vijayalakshmi claiming that the 71-year-old Congress leader had demanded sexual favours in return for carrying out transfers in his department.
Following that interview, a series of news reports were aired by various regional media outlets.
Two days later, Vijayalakshmi, withdrew her charges against Meti and accused four men, for allegedly threatening to kill her if she did not make incriminating statements against the then minister.
Alleging that the minister’s gunman, Subhas Mugalkhod, a district armed reserve (DAR) policeman, was behind the conspiracy to tarnish his image, Vijayalakshmi claimed the four men had taken her to the Hubballi bypass road on November 22 and forcibly recorded her statement against him.
"I have been traumatised over the last month since making the charges against the minister. I earlier said I was not the woman in the video because I was being threatened. I have a lot of respect for the minister, who is my distant relative. DAR constable Subhas has hatched this conspiracy," she had alleged.
Seeing Vijayalakshmi make a U-turn, the CID, in its report questioned her credibility as a witness, media reports said.
“We suspected that the state government could try to protect the tainted Congress leader to safeguard its image. This has happened in the case of minister KJ George, who was re-inducted into the Cabinet after a probe into the allegations made against him by Deputy Superintendent of Police MK Ganapathy, before he killed himself,” Opposition leader, Jagadish Shettar told media persons last month. He had then warned that the BJP would launch an agitation if Meti was let off.
Meanwhile, the four men accused of threatening to kill the government employee unless she accused Meti of sexual harassment, have obtained conditional bail.