Munirathna: An MLA dogged by many controversies

The slew of allegations faced by the BJP MLA range from bribery and caste abuse to honey trap and rape.

Former Minister Munirathna Naidu, 60, is the BJP MLA from R. R. Nagar in Bengaluru, has been a film producer, civil contractor and a former rowdy-sheeter. No stranger to controversies, he seems to be facing the toughest one ever right now with a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe his alleged crimes, including bribery, criminal intimidation, caste abuse, rape, honey trap and blackmail.

He appears to be at his lowest politically, with allegations of abusing Vokkaligas and Scheduled Castes, and also blackmailing his own party leaders using honey trap.

However, Munirathna has been a survivor, always managing to get out of tight spots and reinventing himself. He has often proudly said that he has faced many allegations and cases in his life, but was never convicted. 

Munirathna’s family hails from Chittoor in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. They settled down in Kodandaramapura, Vyalikaval, near Malleswaram in Bengaluru, where the MLA continues to reside. After losing his father when he was 15, Munirathna was arrested for assaulting two rowdy-sheeters in his area in the late 1970s.

In jail, he met gangster Kotwal Ramachandra and became one of his close associates, according to a retired police officer. His elder brother Korangu Krishna too was a notorious rowdy-sheeter. Korangu Krishna was an associate of Kotwal’s opponent and another gangster M.P. Jayaraj.

During his stint with Kotwal, Munirathna was arrested multiple times in several cases and was a rowdy-sheeter at Vyalikawal Police Station. During this period, the brothers held the contract for managing swimming pools at Bhashyam Circle, Mahalakshmi Layout and Basavanagudi. 

Following the murder of Kotwal Ramachandra and several of his gang members in 1986, Munirathna decided to turn a new leaf, which he has often said was possible only because of the help from noted police officer B. B. Ashok Kumar.