Snehamayi Krishna, a Right to Information (RTI) activist in Karnataka, who recently played a key role in obtaining a court order for an FIR against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, now faces criminal charges himself. Krishna has been accused of harassing a woman in connection with a property dispute. He has denied the allegations, calling it an “attempt” to suppress his anti-corruption activism.
The woman filed a complaint at the Nanjangud police station on August 21, 2024, leading to the registration of an FIR on the same day. The allegations became public only on Saturday evening, September 28.
In her complaint, the woman accused Krishna and his relatives of physically assaulting her, pulling her clothes, and verbally abusing her on July 18, 2024, while she was returning from court. She also alleged Krishna, along with her father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law, had been harassing her over a property dispute involving her late husband's death benefits and jewellery. Krishna is the fourth accused in the case.
Krishna, along with three others, was instrumental in filing a complaint that led to securing sanction from the Governor and eventually the registration of an FIR against Siddaramaiah in MUDA scam. The Chief Minister and others are accused of corruption, cheating, and forgery related to the allocation of 14 MUDA housing sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathy in 2021. The case was initiated after Krishna, along with activists TJ Abraham and Pradeep Kumar, obtained the governor’s sanction for the investigation, later upheld by the Karnataka High Court.
The FIR against Krishna has been registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections 85 (Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 74 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 352 (individual intentionally insults another person), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 79 (insult the modesty of a woman through words, gestures, sounds, or any object meant to be heard or seen by the woman), and 3(5) (joint criminal liability when two or more individuals act with a common intention).
Krishna has dismissed the allegations, saying it is part of a larger effort to hinder his anti-corruption work.