Rape case filed against arrested Karnataka BJP MLA

Bengaluru, Sep 19 : Karnataka Police have lodged an FIR against jailed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Munirathna, in connection with raping a woman social activist, said officials on Thursday.

MLA Muniratha is presently in Bengaluru Central Prison on charges of issuing life threats and using casteist slurs against a contractor.

The Special Court has reserved its order on Munirathna’s bail plea for Thursday.

The police sources confirmed that in case the MLA gets bail, he will be arrested again in the rape case immediately after coming out of the Central Prison. If the court denies him bail, he will be taken into police custody on a body warrant in the case.

The Kaggalipura police in Ramanagara district filed an FIR against Munirathna on Thursday following the complaint by a woman social activist. The complainant has stated in her complaint that she was introduced to Munirathna in public life. He developed closeness by making calls to her over mobile. He had taken her to a godown owned by him in Mutyalanagara and raped her.

The complainant had also stated that he recorded the act and threatened her that if the matter came out she would be dealt with. The victim also claimed that she was forced to honeytrap people in different private resorts. “BJP MLA forced me to carry out honey traps. He had threatened me with life to get this job done,” the victim stated in her complaint, sources confirmed.

Kaggalipura police have also booked an FIR against six of his associates. Vijaykumar, Kiran, Lohit, Manjunath, Loki and two others.

The victim had approached the police late in the night on Wednesday and recorded her statements before Deputy SP Dinakar Shetty. The police registered the case in the early hours of Thursday under IPC Sections 354 (A), 354 (C), 308, 406, 384, 120 (B), 504, 506 and 149.

The police have also booked the MLA from Rajarajeshwari Nagar under the provisions of the IT Act and the Representation of the People Act. The case has been registered under the IPC Sections as the incident took place earlier.

The victim, while coming out of the police station, said that she had been stressed since the morning and was not permitted by the police department to talk about the incident. “I have suffered a lot,” she stated.