Bengaluru, Jan 19: Former Karnataka Minister and BJP leader B. Sriramulu has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for revealing the identity of a minor victim during a speech at a BJP rally on January 17 in Ballari. The police have filed an FIR based on a complaint that Sriramulu disclosed sensitive details, including the victim's name, address, school, and class, which violated the POCSO Act.

The incident occurred while Sriramulu was addressing a protest rally demanding the arrest of Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy and a CBI inquiry into a shootout case. In his speech, Sriramulu claimed that Ballari had become a hub for drugs and alleged that the accused had consumed drugs before assaulting a schoolgirl.

While the controversy unfolded, BJP MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy, a close associate of Sriramulu, stated that they would face the case legally. The incident has intensified political tensions in the region, with Sriramulu also attacking the Congress-led state government and local Congress MLA Reddy, as well as vowing to form a BJP government in Karnataka after the upcoming elections.