Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Aug 18: Even as former BJP minister, Hartalu Halappa, got respite from the court in the seven-year-old rape case, former minister in Siddaramaiah cabinet, H Y Meti, who was heaving a sigh of relief after the criminal investigation department officials gave him a clean chit in a rape case, is in hot water. The victim, who had earlier claimed that rape story was a concoction of lies, and had recently threatened to spill the beans after the government refused to let her join for duty after long absence, claimed that Meti had raped her several times by posing threats to her.

The woman, Vijayalaxmi, accused officials in criminal investigation department of failing to undertake proper investigation before declaring the minister innocent, in a thee-page letter she has written to the additional chief secretary in home department and director general of police.

H Y Meti

The lady said in her complaint that she was serving as an assistant in the department of gynecology in government Ayush hospital at Bagalkot. "As part of my job, I used to visit the office of minister, H Y Meti, often. During one such visits, he forcibly pulled me towards him and kissed me. Later, when I needed his help to get some work done urgently, I contacted him over phone. He called me to his residence, and when I reached there, he raped me by using force. When I told him that what he was doing was not right, he asked me not to speak about this incident with anyone. He also posed death threat if I ever revealed this fact to others," the woman has stated.

"After the video with me in red sari was beamed in news channels on December 11, 2016, supporters of Meti kept me in confinement and threatened me and my family members. On the night of December 14, I was taken to the farm of the minister's relative where I was kept in confinement. On December 17, Meti's son handed me a complaint written by him, and instructed me to copy the same in my handwriting. After I did as I was told, the complaint was delivered the same day to the police. On January 8, 2017, I was brought out of the farm at Devanal and escorted to Keertinagar, Vijayapura," the victim stated. She added that she was not allowed to stay with her family, mentally tortured, and death threat was posed to her often.

She said that after the criminal investigation departmet served her notice seeking her presence for investigation on January 30, supporters of Meti took her on January 29 to the Drive-In lodge and gave her a list of questions handed by criminal investigation department at 9.30 pm. "They personally got me to answer these questions as dictated by them, which they took away. At 10.30 am the next day, I met officials of the department, but the subject of my relationship with Meti never came up during my interaction with them," she has stated.

She said that after Meti got clean chit on May 23 and 24, she came back to Bagalkot after remaining away for seven months from her family in June."I remained at home for six weeks, and shared actual information with the media as I expected trouble from the concerned," she has said.