Rape Case Against BJP MLA And Film Producer Munirathna

A rape, sexual harassment case has been filed against Rajarajeshwari Nagar BJP MLA Munirathna along with six others.

The case was registered at Kaggalipura police station in Ramanagara district. As per the complaint, the incident took place at a private resort under Kaggalipura police station limits. The FIR has been registered against 7 people including MLA Munirathna, Karnataka Police said in a statement on Thursday.

The First Information Report (FIR) was filed under IPC Sections 354A, 354C, 376, 506, 504, 120(b), 149, 384, 406, 308. The others accused in the case are: Vijay Kumar, Sudhakara, Kiran Kumar, Lohit Gowda, Manjunath and Loki.

This case will come up for hearing at the Special Court of People's Representatives on Thursday.

The producer-politician is currently in police custody in connection with a case of threatening a contractor.

Munirathna could be detained near the jail if bail is granted. If denied, Kaggalipura police plan to file a body warrant to take him into custody. He was arrested on September 14 by Bengaluru police for allegedly threatening a BBMP contractor.

According to Kolar SP B Nikhil, Munirathna was apprehended with the help of Kolar police while traveling to Andhra Pradesh. Two FIRs have been filed at Vyalikaval police station based on contractor Chelvaraju's complaints, which accuse Munirathna of issuing death threats and harassment.

Chelvaraju claims Munirathna demanded a Rs 20 lakh bribe, threatening, "What happened to Renukaswamy will happen to you." An audio clip also surfaced, allegedly featuring Munirathna using abusive language and threats against the contractor and his wife.

Munirathna is a leading Kannada film producer who has made hit movies like 'Raktha Kanneeru', 'Anatharu', and 'Kurukshetra'.

Munirathna is a four-time MLA from Rajarajeshwarinagar. He made his political debut on a Congress ticket in 2013 and retained the seat in 2018.

In 2018, Munirathna faced setbacks. In March, he was charge-sheeted by the CID in the Rs 1,500-crore fake bill scam. Shortly before the Assembly polls, a stash of voter IDs linked to him was discovered, leading to the postponement of elections in RR Nagar.

He switched to the BJP in 2019 and won the 2020 bypoll against Congress' Kusuma Hanumantharayappa, later becoming the horticulture minister. This victory marked the start of his rivalry with Congress leaders D K Shivakumar and D K Suresh.

In the 2023 elections, Munirathna defeated DK Brothers-backed Kusuma by over 10,000 votes.

His involvement in BJP's C N Manjunath's win over D K Suresh in the Lok Sabha polls intensified his feud with the D K brothers.