A 34-year-old woman accused 55-year-old Karnataka Congress MLA from Dharwad and former minister Vinay Kulkarni of rape, kidnapping, and criminal intimidation in a complaint she submitted at the Sanjay Nagar police station. A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against the Congress leader on 8th October after the complaint was filed. His assistant Arjun is also named as an accused in the case. The complainant, a social worker, revealed that her association with Vinay Kulkarni began in early 2022 after he received her contact information through a mutual acquaintance.
The conversations were normal at first but promptly turned inappropriate when Kulkarni uttered lewd remarks and made a video call to her while naked, according to the victim. She also mentioned that he threatened her and sent goons to scare her into compliance when she refused to talk to him. She unveiled that in March or April 2022, the MLA invited her to the Belagavi Circuit House, where he touched her improperly and let her go when someone arrived there. However, he continued to harass her relentlessly.
On 24th August of the same year, the Congress leader summoned her to his residence while she was in Bengaluru to meet with then-Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. He then reportedly drove her to a remote location close to Kempegowda International Airport where he sexually abused and raped her in the automobile. She added that he told her he would “take care of her” and help her grow in politics but warned her not to talk to anyone about the incident.
She stated that Arjun had erased messages and images from her phone in order to conceal evidence after which she decided to approach the authorities. Sections 506, 504, 201, 366, 376, 323, and 354 of the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Information Technology Act have been invoked against the MLA by the police as further inquiry into the matter is underway. The charges include rape, kidnapping, criminal intimidation, causing the disappearance of evidence, and voluntarily causing hurt and assault or criminal force to the woman with intent to outrage her modesty.
BREAKING! 🚨🚨
— Janta Journal (@JantaJournal) October 9, 2024
FIR filed against Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni for raping and kidnapping a 34-year-old woman. pic.twitter.com/E8YbcbYcvM
Meanwhile, a countercomplaint was launched by Vinay Kulkarni who claimed that the woman and Rakesh Shetty, the managing director of Kannada news channel Power TV are “blackmailing and trying to extort Rs 2 crore from him.” The police opened a new FIR and began an inquiry in response to the development. His complaint was lodged with the Sanjay Nagar police on 7th October evening, subsequent to the TV station airing the woman’s accusations and providing visual proof which featured him on a video call with her.
