Angel investor Mahesh Murthy arrested in molestation case

Mahesh Murthy was booked on 29 December under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 354 (D) (stalking) and 509 (word or gesture intended to hurt the modesty of a woman) and relevant provisions of the IT Act. Photo: iStockphoto

Mumbai: Angel investor Mahesh Murthy was on Friday arrested in Mumbai in connection with a molestation case, police said.

Murthy, 52, was arrested in suburban Bandra, they said. Murthy was booked on 29 December under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 354 (D) (stalking) and 509 (word or gesture intended to hurt the modesty of a woman) and relevant provisions of the IT Act, based on a 32 year-old woman’s complaint, police said.

A case was registered by the Khar police in Mumbai as the complainant, a Delhi-based entrepreneur, mentioned that the accused was a resident of Mumbai. The National Commission of Women (NCW) had written to the Maharashtra police about complaints it had received from several women against Murthy, a police official said.

The NCW had made an intervention, according to which Khar police filed a case against Murthy, under section 354 (D), 509 of IPC and section 67 of the IT Act, the official said. “After investigating the case, we arrested Murthy today,” Ramchandra Jadhav, senior police inspector of Khar police station, told PTI.

Murthy is co-founder of Seedfund and founder and chief executive officer of Pinstorm Technologies Private Limited, a pay-for-performance digital brand management firm. Last year, a business author alleged she was sexually assaulted by Murthy, a claim rubbished by him.

In April last year, a series of complaints surfaced on social media against Murthy. These included some charges dating back a decade ago, the official said.