FIR on journalist for report on rape case in Karnataka

“I had written the story by quoting the FIR filed by the woman and the court order rejecting his bail application. There was nothing defamatory in the report,” the reporter said Shutterstock

Our Correspondent

Bangalore | Published 28.02.21, 01:41 AM

A journalist has been booked in Chitradurga in Karnataka for writing about the brother of a prominent Lingayat seer who is accused in a rape case.

G. Mahantesh, based in Bangalore, had on February 6 published a story in his Kannada news portal about a woman who had on January 16 filed a police complaint accusing M.G. Doreswamy of allegedly raping her in 2019.

Doreswamy is the brother of Swami Shivamurthy Sharanu, seer of Muruga Mutt in Chitradurga, and CEO of Sri Jagadguru Murugarajendra Vidhyapeetha that runs a chain of schools and professional colleges.

“I had written the story by quoting the FIR filed by the woman and the court order rejecting his bail application. There was nothing defamatory in the report,” the reporter said.

FIR on journalist for report on rape case in Karnataka

G. Mahantesh had published a story about a woman who had filed a police complaint accusing M.G. Doreswamy of allegedly sexually assaulting her in 2019