Karnataka State Bar Council suspends advocate for sexual harassment of junior
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Bar Council has suspended the enrolment of a 46-year-old advocate from Bengaluru for alleged sexual harassment of a junior in his office and referred the matter to a Disciplinary Committee.
The complaint was filed by a 26-year-old female junior advocate who had joined the office of the accused in April 2022. Following a series of alleged forceful behavior, she quit his office in September 2022.
She was thereafter allegedly blackmailed by the senior advocate, who also filed criminal cases against her.
The Bar Council in its proceedings noted: “Perused the documents and the allegations made in the complaint and also exchanged through WhatsApp messages between the parties. The WhatsApp messages show (an) unprofessional approach by the Respondent Advocate towards the complainant. This is a clear case of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation and professional misbehavior on the part of the respondent Advocate towards a woman junior Advocate.”
The proceedings also said the accused advocate sought time on October 5, 2023 to file his explanation to the complaint filed against him. But “even after a lapse of 30 days’ of time, the Respondent has failed to file any explanation or any objections, before the Bar Council Authority,” the proceedings have recorded.
“It is resolved to suspend the respondent pending enquiry and it is further resolved to refer the same to Disciplinary Committee No.1 for enquiry,” according to the proceedings of the recent Bar Council meeting.
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Man kills woman lecturer, sets car ablaze; dies by suicide in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): A 46-year-old man allegedly killed a woman lecturer by setting fire to the car with her inside, before dying by suicide; his severed body was found by railway police the next day, police said on Tuesday.
The deceased, identified as Ramanjinappa, a resident of Doddaballapura, was a contract worker in the tahsildar’s office, they said.
Police said the man, who was married and had apparently separated from his wife, was in an illicit relationship with a woman identified as Saroja, whose charred body was found inside a gutted car in an isolated area near the Bashetty Industrial Area in Doddaballapura taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Saroja was also married and had a son, police said.
According to police, on Saturday, the man allegedly borrowed a car from an acquaintance, claiming he had a medical emergency and needed to visit a hospital.
Citing preliminary investigations, a senior police officer said the man picked up the lecturer from a bus stop in Devanahalli. The two spent a couple of hours driving around Nandi Hills and nearby areas.
Later, they reached a secluded spot in Doddaballapura, where it is suspected that an argument ensued inside the car, following which he allegedly hit her on the head with a hammer, the officer said.
He then set the car on fire, reportedly using petrol, and is believed to have died by suicide thereafter, police said.
Locals who saw the burning car alerted the police and fire department, who rushed to the spot, extinguished the fire, and found the woman’s body completely charred inside the vehicle, the officer added.
His severed body was found near railway tracks in Bidadi by the railway police on Sunday, he said.
The motive and whether the crime was premeditated or impulsive are under investigation, he said.
Saroja’s husband filed a complaint accusing Ramanjinappa of killing her, police said, adding that a detailed investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events.
