BENGALURU: The Special Court to try cases against sitting and former MPs/MLAs on Tuesday granted bail to Rajarajeshwari Nagar BJP MLA Munirathna, in a rape case. A 40-year-old social worker had filed the rape complaint against the 60-year-old MLA, with the Kaggalipura police of Ramanagara district, on September 18. The police had arrested the MLA on September 20, immediately after he stepped out of the Bengaluru Central Prison, after obtaining bail in an atrocity case that was registered against him by the Vyalikaval police on September 13.
The court directed Munirathna to execute a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and instructed him to appear before the investigating agency, whenever summoned. The court on Monday had granted pre-arrest bail to Lohit Gowda, Kiran Kumar and Manjunath, also accused in the rape case.
The woman had alleged that the MLA raped her repeatedly between 2020 to 2022, and also threatened and blackmailed her to honey-trap others, by using her private videos. Munirathna was earlier arrested on September 14 from Nangali of Mulbagal taluk in Kolar district, following two FIRs being registered against him in the Vyalikaval police station.
The state government had also constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe three criminal cases, including the said rape case. The SIT was headed by CID ADGP BK Singh.
It may be recalled that the rape victim, while addressing a press conference last week, had accused the MLA of honey-trapping two former Karnataka chief ministers so that he could secure himself a cabinet berth. She had also stated of submitting the evidence and videos of the honey-trap to the SIT, if she would be given police protection.
The Kaggalipura police had registered a case against Munirathna under Sections 376 (rape), 354 (assault with intent to outrage modesty of woman), 354(C), 506 (criminal intimidation), 504 (intentional insult), 384 (extortion), and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the IPC and also under the IT Act.