A special court in Bengaluru has ordered BJP MLA Munirathna to be held in police custody until October 5 following his arrest on charges of rape and sexual harassment.

The special court issued the order on September 24, while Munirathna, an MLA representing the Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency in Bengaluru, was in judicial custody after being arrested by city police on charges of rape, harassment, and allegedly using "HIV positive women to honey trap rivals."

Munirathna was arrested on September 14 and subsequently remanded to judicial custody. In response to his arrest, the Karnataka government established a special investigation team (SIT) led by IPS officer BK Singh to investigate the allegations against the BJP MLA.

On September 23, the SIT received the case files related to Munirathna and presented him before the special court the following day, requesting his custody for further investigation.

Munirathna has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 376 (rape), 354 (assault with intent to outrage a woman's modesty), 354(C), 506 (criminal intimidation), 504 (intentional insult), 384 (extortion), and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), as well as offences under the Information Technology Act.

Previously, Munirathna had obtained bail in two other criminal cases against him for allegedly making derogatory comments about the Vokkaliga and Dalit communities.