Karnataka ex-minister jailed till May 15, still in hospital

BANGALORE - Former Karnataka minister Haratalu Halappa, arrested Sunday in a rape case, was Monday sent to jail till May 15 but he is likely to stay put in a hospital in Shimoga where he was admitted after he complained of chest pain, officials said.

“Halappa is suffering from diabetics and blood pressure and will be in hospital for two-three days more,” a spokesperson of the government McGann Hospital told reporters in Shimoga, about 270 km from here.

Halappa, who resigned May 2 as food and civil supplies minister after the rape charges, surrendered to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) at Shimoga Sunday and was arrested after about four hours of interrogation.

A court in Shimoga sent him to jail for a day Sunday. Soon after being taken to a jail in the town he complained of chest pain and was admitted to McGann Hospital.

On Monday, the court extended his jail stay till May 15, though the CID had sought his custody for 14 days.

Halappa, 49, has been accused of raping Chandravathi, the wife of his friend Venkatesh Murthy, at Shimoga on the night of Nov 26-27, 2009.

The CID served a notice on Halappa May 6 to appear before its inquiry team by May 10 for interrogation.

The Shimoga police had registered the criminal case against him May 4 on a complaint by Chandravathi a day earlier.