Shimoga: Hours after he was arrested on rape charges, former Karnataka minister, Hartal Halappa, is being monitored by a high-profile team of doctors, policemen and relatives at a hospital in Shimoga.
Halappa was arrested on Sunday by the state's CID after being questioned for three hours. After that, he complained of chest pain and was moved to hospital.
The charges against him include rape, intimidation, and unlawful restraint and confinement. Halappa has denied the charges, accusing his political rivals of trying to malign him.
He resigned last week as Food and Civil Supplies Minister in the BJP government in Karnataka after local media reported that a couple from Shimoga was ready to formally accuse him of rape. Halappa stayed at the couple's house in Shimoga in November.
"Halappa's blood pressure and blood sugar levels were high yesterday but are fine now. He also underwent an ECG which showed normal results. He needs to be under monitoring for 48 hours," said Dr SK Mahendrappa, Medical Superintendant, McGann Hospital.
After being arrested, he has not been produced in court - his health doesn't seem to permit it, say those close to him. But others, including the man whose wife was allegedly raped by Halappa, believe the former minister is being allowed special treatment by the government. "This is a conspiracy. How can his health change after being given judicial custody? There is a conspiracy by the CID officers and the government to keep him away from the public and the media," says KP Sripal, whose representing the woman who was allegedly raped, and her husband, Venkatesh Murthy.
Halappa's lawyer, Ashok G Bhatta, will try to convince a local court to grant anticipatory bail to Halappa on Tuesday. In what could alarm many, he also says, "The charges are not serious."