Former Karnataka excise minister HY Meti is in hot water again, soon after he got some respite in the sex-tape case that had forced him to resign from the Cabinet of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Also read: Top 7 sex scandals to hit Indian politics
The woman who was allegedly featured in the sex tape has now said Meti raped her several times, and then his supporters threatened her.
The new allegations could hurt the Congress' bid to return to power in the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.
The sex tape controversy
Meti had resigned from his Cabinet post in December last year following allegations that he had featured in a sex tape that was made public by RTI activist Rajashekar Mulali.
The tape allegedly involved Meti taking advantage of a woman who had approached him for a favour.
The CID, which was investigating the case, had given Meti a clean chit in the case, which had led to him heaving a sigh of relief. However, the case is now back to haunt him again.
Fresh allegations
Now, the woman in the case has said in a complaint to the police that Meti raped her multiple times when she visited him at his residence in Bagalkot.
She also said in her complaint: "Meti's supporters kept me in wrongful detention for three days after a video was telecast in news channels. I filed a complaint against the people who released the video and others as they threatened me into doing so."
She added: "They also forced me to give a statement in their favour before the CID officials probing the case." The woman also said Meti's supporters had threatened her and her kin. "Meti has to be responsible for anything happening to me or my family in future," she has said in her complaint to the cops.
The allegations definitely shed new light on the case, and if found true, could get the CID clean chit overturned and spell a lot more trouble for Meti, including cases of criminal intimidation -- at least for those supporters of his who allegedly threatened the woman.
