SIT to probe gang rape case involving Karnataka BJP MLA Munirathna
A special investigation team (SIT) has taken up the case against Karnataka BJP MLA Munirathna who has been accused by a 40-year-old woman of masterminding her gang rape, urinating on her and injecting her with a deadly virus.
Police had booked Munirathna and his alleged accomplices, Vasantha, Channakeshawa and Kamal, on Tuesday.
The SIT had been formed last year after Munirathna was accused of rape, blackmail, harassment, bribery and using casteist language, among other charges. A police officer said that as the SIT had already been probing Munirathna's criminal cases, the latest case, including all evidence and documents, was handed over to it.
According to the FIR, the incident occurred on June 11, 2023, at the MLA's office. The woman, a BJP worker, alleged that Munirathna had influenced others to file false cases against her.
The woman alleged that Munirathna had influenced others to file false cases against her. After being released from jail, she was told by Vasantha and Kamal that Munirathna would help clear the charges against her. She said that Vasantha and Kamal lured her to his office at his behest.
Upon arrival, she was allegedly disrobed by Munirathna, Vasantha, and Channakeshawa. She alleged that the trio threatened to kill her son if she resisted. Munirathna then allegedly instructed the two men to rape her.
In her statement, the woman also claimed that Munirathna urinated on her. Following this, an unidentified person reportedly entered with a white box and handed it to Munirathna, who then used a syringe from the box to inject her. He allegedly threatened to destroy her family if she spoke about the incident.
The woman claimed that she was hospitalised in January and was found to have an incurable virus, prompting her to connect it with the 2023 incident. On Monday, the woman allegedly tried to die by suicide but survived and decided to report the matter to the police.
The police on Tuesday booked the accused under sections 376D (gang rape), 270 (act likely to spread infection), 323 (causing hurt), 354 (assault on a woman), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (outraging modesty) of the Indian Penal Code.
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