The Karnataka Police on Friday arrested Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Munirathna in a rape case, immediately after he was released on bail in another matter, The Hindu reported.
Munirathna, who represents Bengaluru’s Rajarajeshwarinagar Nagar constituency, received bail from a special court on Thursday. He had been arrested on September 14 for allegedly threatening a civic contractor, making casteist remarks and demanding a bribe from him.
The court also granted him anticipatory bail in a third case filed under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act.
On Friday, Munirathna was arrested in the rape case after he was released from the Bengaluru Central Prison.
The police had registered the case on Wednesday based on the complaint of a 40-year-old woman. In her complaint, she accused the BJP MLA of raping her several times between 2020 and 2022.
The first information report also listed six other persons – Vijay Kumar, Sudhakar, Kiran Kumar, Lohith Gowda, Manjunatha and Loki – for assisting Munirathna in his alleged criminal conspiracies, The Indian Express quoted unidentified police officers as saying.
As per the first information report, Munirathna sexually abused the woman several times, The Indian Express reported. He allegedly recorded videos to blackmail her and honeytrap others, it added.
He has also been accused of using the woman to infect a former corporator’s husband with HIV, the report added.
Munirathna was charged under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to repeated rape, sexual harassment, voyeurism, criminal intimidation, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, criminal conspiracy, among others.
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