Karnataka BJP MLA case: Court reserves order till Thursday

Bengaluru: The Special Court for MLAs/MPs in Bengaluru has reserved the order of BJP MLA N. Munirathna’s bail petition till Thursday. Judge Santhosh Gajanana Bhat passed the order as the MLA Munirathna is presently lodged at the Central Prison in Bengaluru.

Counsel Surya Mukundaraj appearing for the complainant submitted to the court that if bail is granted to MLA Munirathna, there is a high chance of destruction of evidence. He should not be provided with bail since the incident had taken place in the premises of the legislators’ office.

Senior Counsel Ashok Harnalli, appearing for MLA Munirathna stated that in the complaint it is not mentioned when exactly the abuse was made since 2015. The notice should have been issued to Munirathna under the provision of 41 A.

The sections imposed on Munirathna can’t be invoked against him in the case and hence the bail should be granted to him.

After hearing arguments and counterarguments, the bench reserved the order for Thursday.

Meanwhile, talking to reporters, Home Minister G. Parameshwara said that if the voice samples of BJP MLA Munirathna matched the voice in the audio clip, the government would surely initiate action against him.

“The voice sample of BJP MLA Munirathna has been collected and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). If the FSL tests confirm his involvement, we will take action,” he reiterated.

An audio clip of Munirathna purportedly making casteist slurs against Vokkaligas and Dalits while giving life threats to the contractor also went viral.

He was arrested at Nangali village near Mulbagal town in Kolar district. The court had earlier handed him over to two days police custody on Sunday.

The accused MLA was arrested while trying to escape to Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.

The police tracked him through his phone location. After making the arrest, Kolar Police handed over Munirathna's custody to Bengaluru Police.

Cheluvaraju, the contractor who lodged a police complaint against MLA Munirathna, met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah last Saturday and made a submission that even as the police had filed two FIRs, no action was initiated.

Karnataka Police had earlier on Saturday filed two FIRs against the BJP MLA from the Rajarajeshwari Nagar (RR Nagar) constituency.

The cases were registered at the Vyalikaval police station in Bengaluru.

Cheluvaraju claimed that the police are not initiating any action against the BJP MLA even after registering FIRs and demanded Siddaramaiah give directions to initiate legal action in this regard.

Siddaramaiah assured him of legal action and protection.

In addition to Munirathna, cases have also been filed against his Personal Assistant Vijaykumar, security personnel Abhishek, and Vasanth Kumar.

Cheluvaraju, the contractor, had earlier lodged a complaint with Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, seeking protection.

Cheluvaraju alleged that Munirathna demanded Rs 20 lakh from him and threatened that if he did not comply, he would face the same fate as Renukaswamy.

Incidentally, Renukaswamy was kidnapped and killed by Kannada superstar Darshan and his associates for sending derogatory messages to Pavithra Gowda, Darshan’s partner.