The Karnataka Police on Sunday booked BJP leader Arun Kumar Puthila for allegedly sexually harassing a 47-year-old woman. Puthila refuted the allegations and said it was a political conspiracy against him.
In her complaint to the Dakshina Kannada police, the woman said the BJP leader sexually assaulted her at a hotel in Bengaluru between June 1 and 8. She said she had been impressed by the Hindutva ideology and had become his fan. She also said she used to support his words and actions on social media.
“In June last year, he asked me to come to a hotel in Bengaluru where he sexually assaulted me. Later, he started blackmailing me and used to call me whenever he wanted. He physically and mentally exploited me, assuring me that he would provide everything needed for the betterment of my daughter’s life,” she said in her complaint.
She also said he used to threaten to leak her photos and videos to get his work done by her. “He assured me to pay for the work that I had done but never paid,” she added.
Puthila contested as a rebel Independent candidate in the Karnataka Assembly polls last year after the BJP denied him a ticket from the Puttur Assembly seat. He lost by 4,149 votes to the Congress’s Ashok Kumar Rai and later rejoined the BJP.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
