Rape case registered against BJP MLA
Bengaluru: Police have registered a case against jailed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Munirathna for raping a woman social worker. The MLA is currently lodged in Bengaluru Central Jail on charges of threatening to kill a contractor and using casteist slurs.
The special court has reserved its order on Munirathna’s bail plea till Thursday. Police sources have confirmed that even if the MLA gets bail, he will be arrested again in the rape case immediately after coming out of the central prison. If the court refuses to grant him bail, he will be taken into police custody on a body warrant.
The Kaggalipura police in Ramanagara district on Thursday registered an FIR against Munirathna following a complaint by a woman social worker. The complainant said that she was introduced to Munirathna during a public event. Munirathna got close to her by calling her on mobile. He then took her to a godown owned by him in Mutyalnagar and raped her.
The complainant also said that the MLA recorded the act and threatened her with dire consequences if the matter came to light. The victim also claimed that she was used as a honeytrap. She was forced to honeytrap people in several private resorts.
Sources confirmed that the victim said in her complaint, “The BJP MLA forced me to honeytrap him. He threatened to kill me if I did not do the deed.” The Kaggalipura police have also registered an FIR against his six accomplices Vijayakumar, Kiran, Lohith, Manjunath, Loki and two others.
The victim approached the police late on Wednesday night and recorded her statement before Deputy SP Dinakar Shetty. The police registered a case under IPC sections 354 (A), 354 (C), 308, 406, 384, 120 (B), 504, 506 and 149 in the wee hours of Thursday. The police have also registered a case against the Rajarajeshwari Nagar MLA under the IT Act and the Representation of the People Act. Since the incident happened earlier, a case has been registered under IPC sections.
Coming out of the police station, the victim said she was under stress since morning and the police department did not allow her to talk about the incident. “I have suffered a lot,” she said.
