Bengaluru court grants bail to BJP MLA Munirathna in rape case

A special court in Bengaluru has granted bail to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Munirathna, accused in a case of rape and sexual harassment.

Special judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat granted bail to Munirathna.

The Court also granted pre-arrest bail to Munirathna's co-accused Lohit, Kiran and Manjunath.

The Court directed Munirathna to execute a personal bond of ₹1 lakh and asked him to appear before the investigating agency whenever called upon.

Munirathna was arrested on September 14 and remanded to judicial custody. Following his arrest, the Karnataka government constituted a special investigation team (SIT) headed by IPS officer BK Singh to conduct an investigation into the allegations against the BJP MLA.

Munirathna has been booked 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 Indian Penal Code and for offences under the Information Technology Act.

Earlier, Munirathna had secured bail in two other criminal cases registered against him for allegedly having made derogatory comments against the Vokkaliga and Dalit communities.