In the report, the victim described her ordeal in detail, saying "During COVID-19, I donated 5,000 masks to corporator Mamata Vasudev. MLA Munirathna contacted me, inviting me to meet and later became overly friendly.."
Published Sep 19, 2024 | 6:39 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 19, 2024 | 6:39 PM
MLA Munirathna accused of rape and honey-trapping
In more trouble for beleaguered BJP MLA Munirathna, another FIR has been registered against him along with 6 others over allegations of raping a woman. This allegedly happened at a private resort near Bengaluru.
A case of rape, honey trapping and sexual harassment has been filed against Munirathna at the Kaggalipura police station in Ramanagara district. The others have been identified as Vijay Kumar, Sudhakara, Kiran Kumar, Lohit Gowda, Manjunath and Loki.
The First Information Report (FIR) was registered under Sections 354A, 354C, 376(2), 506, 504, 120(b), 149, 384, 406, 308 of Indian Penal Code along with 66 and 66(E) of the Information Technology Act 2000.
“A rape, sexual harassment case has been filed against Rajarajeshwari Nagar BJP MLA Munirathna. 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. FIR has been registered against 7 people including MLA Munirathna,” said the Karnataka Police to media houses.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, I met the local corporator, Mamata Vasudev, as I was actively involved in social service in my area. I donated more than 5,000 masks to Mamata Vasudev for mass distribution among the public. Upon hearing about this, MLA Munirathna contacted me on WhatsApp, introducing himself as the MLA of the constituency where I was doing the distribution. He invited me to meet him,” the complainant said.
“The next day, I called him on WhatsApp to confirm our meeting, but he replied that he was busy with constituency-related work. Twenty minutes later, he asked me to come to his office near the Ramaiah graveyard. I went to meet him. During our conversation, Vasudev, the husband of corporator Mamata, called me 3-4 times. When I tried to silence the phone, Munirathna asked about the calls. I explained it was the local corporator’s husband, Vasudev. Munirathna then remarked that Vasudev would eventually ask me for a favour, and he believed I would help,” she added.
“After that day, Munirathna began acting overly friendly towards me. He would send me “good morning,” “good night,” and love song messages. He also frequently made video calls, inquiring about my well-being and sharing his concerns,” the complainant claimed.
“One day, he made over ten video calls while I was taking a bath. I later called him on WhatsApp, explaining why I hadn’t answered. He then asked me to show him my naked body on a video call. I refused. Following this, he called me to his godown,” she said.
“A few days later, I went to the godown. His gunman Vijayakumar and Munirathna were waiting for me on the road. Munirathna escorted me to the second floor. Once there, he said that just seeing me made his body shiver. He asked me to hug him, but I refused. He then instructed his gunman to leave the room. Slowly, he stated that such things are common if I wanted to join politics. He ordered his gunman to prevent anyone from entering, then hugged me tightly, saying he couldn’t live without me. I was shocked by his behaviour,” she added.
The complainant said, “When I threatened to scream, he said he was an MLA and had the support of his people. He then threatened to file a false complaint against me and proceeded to sexually assault me. Later, as I cried, he revealed that he had video recordings from hidden cameras in the godown. He showed me one of the recordings on a television screen and threatened to edit and release the video if I told anyone. From that point on, he repeatedly raped me, using the threat of the video as leverage.”
“As time passed, he started inquiring about my relationship with Vasudev. I told him that Vasudev was also torturing me. Munirathna then ordered me to follow Vasudev’s commands and record a video of him, threatening me to obey. Left with no choice, I agreed. He also warned that if I failed to comply, he would send a woman named Radha who was aware of everything, including the cameras, to ensure I cooperated,” she said.
“Radha and I went to an apartment near the Ramaiah graveyard, where Munirathna sent his relative, Sudhakar, to install cameras. Afterward, I met Radha, who was introduced to me by Munirathna. Vasu was also involved, and an intimate video of them was recorded. This video was stored on a laptop, giving Munirathna direct access. I became increasingly fearful of how the situation would escalate. I took pictures of the cameras in the room and the person who set them up on my mobile phone before leaving,” the complainant said.
The complainant continued, “A few days later, Munirathna called to express how pleased he was with my actions. I begged him to delete my private videos and free me from this ordeal. He then asked me to come to his office. When I refused, he came near my house and repeatedly called me. He threatened to show my private videos to my husband and children if I did not comply. Terrified, I went to meet him.”
“He then confessed to having sent an HIV-positive person to have sexual relations with Vasu. I was horrified. Next, he asked me to do a similar task involving Vasu’s son, Charan. He suggested sending another HIV-positive individual or that I help inject him with the virus. I refused vehemently, stating that Charan was of my son’s age. I left and switched off my phone,” she claimed.
She said, “Later, he had his men record videos of Vasu and connected all the footage to a TV in his Sanjay Nagar office. He showed me all these videos. He then forced me to target a political rival named Ganganna, recording a compromising video of him and threatening to use it during the elections. He had several videos of police personnel, which he used for blackmail.”
“He coerced me into developing a friendly relationship with Magadi MLA Manjunath. A video of him was also made and used for blackmail,” she added.
The complainant alleged, “His gunman, Srinivasa, threatened to kill my son while he was on his way to college. After this, there was a week of silence from Munirathna. One night, he called me to come to his house immediately. I took my husband and went there around 9:30 p.m. He was eating at the time. Taking me outside to the lawn, he promised this would be the last time he asked anything of me if I obeyed his orders.”
“When I inquired about the task, he explained that a woman was threatening to rape his relative’s 8-year-old child and that I needed to portray her as a bad woman. He said it would require a team effort. He then called his relative, Kiran Kumar, who was also a family friend, and asked us to work together,” she said.
The complainant also said, “We organised a birthday party at the well-known Swathi Hotel in Rajajinagar. I took my friend Yashodha to the party, where Kiran joined us, along with gunman Vijaykumar, who received us. During the party, we met Vidya Hiremath, exchanged phone numbers, and later formed a messaging group to continue our interactions. Everything was recorded and sent to Munirathna.”
“We then arranged a day trip to Guhantara Resort. Kiran’s friends, Lohit Gowda (Loki) and Manjunath (Manga), joined the trip as well. We all went as couples, and cameras were fixed in the room. The recordings included everyone swimming and changing clothes, including Lakshmi and Yashodha,” she claimed.
“When that was deemed insufficient, we went on another trip to Hagalguraki Resort in Chikkaballapur. During this trip, we mixed sleeping tablets into ORS and made one of the women drink it. Then, Loki, Kiran, and Manju took obscene videos and photos with her. Not satisfied, we embarked on a three-day trip where the woman was coerced into dancing nude, serving drinks, and recording more nude footage,” she added.
Further, she said “On the third night, Munirathna’s gunman, Vijay Kumar, arrived with a bag of drugs. He instructed Kiran to plant it in Vidya Hiremath’s room. Following this, Munirathna ordered us to start a fight with her, abandon her, and leave. The police escorted us in a Hoysala vehicle.”
“Later, Loki filed a complaint at the Annapoorneshwari Police Station against Vidya, accusing her of blackmail. Vidya was arrested, but the complaint was eventually withdrawn. I also filed a complaint at the office of the Ramanagara Commissioner.
Upon learning of this, Munirathna threatened me and my family, stating he would expose my private videos,” she claimed.
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
