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Karnataka BJP leader booked for sexually assaulting woman in 2023
An FIR has been registered against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Kumar Puthila in Dakshina Kannada district for allegedly sexually assaulting a 47-year-old woman in 2023.
An FIR has been registered against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Kumar Puthila in Dakshina Kannada district for allegedly sexually assaulting a 47-year-old woman in 2023, an officer familiar with the matter said.
Puttur woman police station sub inspector Savitha said that the FIR was registered on Sunday against Arun Kumar Puthila by the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a hotel in Bengaluru in June 2023. She further accused him of blackmailing her with photos, selfies, and videos of the incident. She filed the complaint on Saturday.
Savitha quoted the woman as saying: “I was an admirer of Puthila’s ideology. We came in contact with each other through social media. In the first week of June 2023, he asked me to come to a hotel in Bengaluru wherein he sexually harassed me. Later, he used to call me wherever he went. He exploited me both physically and mentally by promising to provide everything for my daughter throughout her life.”
“He even took photos and videos of us, which he later used to blackmail me. After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he stopped contacting me. Now, I have no money to pay the rent and have no job,” she said.
In response to the allegations, Puthila, who contested unsuccessfully from Puttur assembly constituency last year, said: “These are false allegations made against me by the woman. It looks like a pre-planned act. I do not know the woman.”
The officer said that Puthila has been booked under IPC sections 417(Cheating and dishonest inducement)354A( Sexual harassment and advances)506( Criminal intimidation or threats) on the basis of the complaint filed by the woman.
On Monday, Puthila was granted bail by the JMFC of Puttur .
