It is claimed that the man in the viral photograph is Puttur BJP MLA Sanjeeva Matandoor. Bengaluru: A purported photograph of a Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA with an unknown woman has gone viral on social media. It is alleged the man in the photograph is Sanjeeva Matandoor, the BJP MLA from the Puttur Assembly constituency in Dakshina Kannada. Meanwhile, the woman in the photograph has filed a police complaint at the Uppinangady Police Station alleging that the viral picture was doctored. A top source in the district police confirmed the First Information Report (FIR) registration based on the complaint under Sections 354A(1)(iv) (sexual harassment) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 67 (A) (punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing the sexually explicit act, etc., in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.
“The complaint has not been filed against the MLA. His name was also not mentioned in the complaint. The woman has alleged that the photograph was doctored and circulated on social media,” the police officer privy to the development told News9.
Later, the woman released a video and denied any relationship with the MLA.
“The moment I saw the photographs, I filed a police complaint. I have also received some threat calls. People are misusing the tools on social media and are making baseless allegations against me,” she said.
The purported photographs came to the fore ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections, which will be held on May 10.
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