Bengaluru, Oct 15 (IANS): A court here on Tuesday granted bail to Karnataka BJP MLA N Munirathna Naidu jailed in connection with the alleged rape and honey-trapping case.
Munirathna represented the RR Nagar Constituency in Bengaluru. He will come out of prison a month after his arrest. His associates Lohit, Kiran and Manjunath were released on bail on Monday.
The court set the bail amount at Rs 1 lac and required two sureties.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is probing the case of Munirathna. Presently, he is lodged at the Central Prison in Bengaluru.
The Kaggalipura Police in Ramanagara district had filed an FIR against Munirathna following a complaint by a woman social activist.
The victim claimed in her complaint that Munirathna had taken her to a godown owned by him in Mutyalanagara and raped her.
The complainant had also stated that he recorded the act and threatened her that "if the matter came out, she would be dealt with severely". The victim claimed that she was forced to honeytrap people in different private resorts.
"The BJP MLA forced me to carry out honey traps. He had threatened to kill me to get this job done," the victim said in her complaint.
Kaggalipura Police had lodged a criminal case on September 18.
Karnataka Congress leader D.K. Suresh alleged that Munirathna was trying to infect his adversaries with HIV and that the government should investigate the matter.
Suresh said: "A network of people led by Munirathna was conspiring to infect enemies with HIV. The government must investigate all those who are part of the network."
The SIT probing charges against Munirathna Naidu, including allegations of rape, honey-trapping, and other offences, had also conducted raids at his residence and 15 other locations across the city.
According to sources, the raids were triggered by information provided by the victim, who alleged that Munirathna recorded footage of sexual assaults and used it to blackmail politicians and public servants, including IAS and IPS officers.
The MLA was initially arrested on charges of giving a life threat and issuing derogatory remarks against Dalit community. The audio clip which contained derogatory language against the Vokkaliga community also triggered a huge controversy.
The BJP legislator, however, has denied all the allegations, claiming they are false.