FIR filed against Karnataka BJP leader Arun Kumar Puthila for alleged sexual harassment, blackmail
Puttur: An FIR has been filed against Arun Kumar Puthila, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, following allegations of sexual harassment and blackmail. The complaint was filed by a 47-year-old woman at the Puttur Women’s Police Station.
According to reports, the complainant, who was initially supportive of Puthila due to his Hindutva ideology and supported him on social media, alleged that he invited her to a hotel in Bengaluru in 2023, where she was sexually assaulted. She further claimed that BJP leader blackmailed her using selfies, photos, audio, and videos taken during the purported assault.
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The accused has been charged with cheating, sexual harassment, and criminal intimidation.
Puthila had unsuccessfully contested the Puttur Assembly elections as a rebel candidate against the BJP but joined the saffron party ahead of the recent Lok Sabha elections.
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Ban meat, liquor consumption in holy towns along Narmada, MP CM tells officials
Bhopal (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has asked officials to ensure meat and liquor are not consumed in and around religious towns located along the Narmada river, considered the lifeline of the state.
There are 21 districts, 68 tehsils, 1138 villages and 1126 ghats as well as 430 ancient Shiva temples and two 'shakti peeths' along the banks of the river.
Chairing a meeting of officials on Friday, Yadav also said Amarkantak in Anuppur district, from where the Narmada originates, must be given top priority for environmental protection.
"It must be ensured that meat and liquor are not consumed in and around the religious towns and places located on the banks of Narmada River. Future settlements, land should be identified away from the Narmada river's origin and a satellite city should be developed. Sewage should not be released into the Narmada. Work on it must be done within a time limit," Yadav said.
Latest technologies should be used for solid waste management, while satellite imagery and drone systems must be deployed for monitoring of activities along the river in order to enhance environmental protection, he said.
Asserting that all mining activities by machines must be banned, Yadav pointed out Narmada is the only river in the world whose 'parikrama' (circumambulation) is done by devotees.
In order to make it a major religious and tourism activity, work should be done in a phased manner to develop a 'parikrama path' for the convenience of devotees, he added.
"Activities for infrastructure development should be started through local panchayats and committees by marking places on the Parikrama Path. Self-help groups and local youth should be encouraged to develop homestays with arrangement of food etc for people undertaking parikrama of the river," Yadav said.
Of the river's 1312 kilometres, a dominant 1,079 km is in Madhya Pradesh.
