BJP's Munirathna
Credit: DH Photo
BJP MLA Munirathna allegedly raped a woman in his chamber in the Vikasa Soudha as well as in his official car, according to the victim’s statement to the magistrate.
The 40-year-old woman recorded her statement before the First Additional Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate First Class, Nelamangala, on September 19, two days after lodging a rape case against Munirathna at the Kaggalipura police station near Bengaluru.
DH has reviewed a copy of her court statement.
Munirathna was arrested on September 18 and is currently being questioned by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
According to the woman’s statement, Munirathna raped her multiple times between 2020 and 2022 and threatened her into conspiring with him to commit several criminal offences.
In her statement, she recounted that Munirathna had coerced her into helping him teach a lesson to another woman, who was blackmailing the husband of an IAS officer, who earlier served in the BBMP.
According to her, Munirathna asked her to build a rapport with this woman and take her for shopping and to resorts. She said this woman visited two resorts on three occasions with her and Munirathna’s men.
During one such resort visit, one of the MLA’s men gave this woman ORS laced with sleeping pills, and when she fell asleep, he took her nude pictures. Another aide of Munirathna’s later filed a complaint at the Annapoorneshwari police station in Bengaluru, accusing her of blackmailing him with his private images, according to the statement.
The rape survivor told the magistrate that the police arrested this woman but produced her before Munirathna three days later. According to the survivor, Munirathna subsequently convinced this woman to go to her hometown and promised to make her a corporator. When she left, Munirathna’s aide withdrew his complaint, the statement read.
The statement further mentioned that Munirathna later got Rs 400 crore released by the IAS officer serving in the BBMP. The rape survivor also alleged that Munirathna has the private videos of many police officers and pressures them to do his bidding through blackmail.