Karnataka High Court upholds govt's decision to replace academy presidents

Hubballi, May 17: Karnataka Police have arrested the killer, Vishwa, also known as Girish, in the sensational Anjali Ambigera murder case, police said on Friday.

Preliminary investigations reveal that Vishwa was a habitual thief who exploited innocent young women. The accused is also a drunkard and was caught while attempting to commit theft. He was also part of a gang which stole bikes.

The accused targeted gullible young women, enacting a drama of love and playing the emotional card to forcefully extort gold, silver, and cash from them. When Anjali did not agree to any of his attempts to rob her and outrightly rejected his offer to go with him to Mysuru city, he brutally killed her.

The police had formed two teams to hunt down the killer. One of the teams was searching in the south Karnataka region, and another team, which launched a hunt in Davanagere, nabbed him. The accused was arrested by the police on Thursday.

The police could not catch him sooner as the killer did not carry a mobile phone and did not use his phone for 15 days, before murdering Anjali. The jurisdictional Bendigeri Police were aware of the killer's history, but even after the complaint by the girl’s family, they showed "utter negligence".

The 24-year-old Vishwa entered Anjali Ambigera's (20) residence at 5.30 A.M. on Wednesday and stabbed the young woman multiple times before she could react. Vishwa dragged Anjali Ambigera all over the house, kicking and stabbing her. Later, he pushed her into the kitchen where he stabbed her repeatedly.

Despite efforts by Anjali’s grandmother and two sisters to stop the attacker, he killed her and managed to flee. The incident occurred in the Veerapura Oni area within the jurisdiction of the Bendigeri Police Station.

Vishwa had been blackmailing Anjali and pressurising her to accompany him to Mysuru without informing her parents. The incident which took place close on the heels of MCA student Neha Hiremath’s brutal murder by the jilted lover has raised concern over the safety of women all across the state.

The BJP had demanded the resignation of Home Minister G. Parameshwara while the Congress leaders have also demanded that the Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Renuka Sukumar should be transferred for failing to sensitise the police force regarding issues of women’s safety.

Bengaluru: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has claimed that 25,000 pen drives with videos of women being sexually abused allegedly by his nephew, Lok Sabha election candidate Prajwal Revanna, were distributed before polls, and accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar of a conspiracy.

The former chief minister also sought to discredit the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Congress government on April 28 to probe the charges against Prajwal of sexually abusing several women after videos allegedly involving him started making the rounds on social media.

"It is not a Special Investigation Team but 'Siddaramaiah Investigation Team' and 'Shivakumar Investigation Team'," the JD(S) second-in-command, who is the son of party supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, said.

MLA H D Revanna and his son and Hassan MP Prajwal have been booked for allegedly molesting their cook. In another case, Revanna has been booked and arrested for allegedly kidnapping a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by Prajwal. A case of rape has also been registered against Prajwal.

Addressing a press conference here, Kumaraswamy said the pen drives were circulated by police officers who were "threatened to do it".

“It (pen drive carrying videos) was released in Bengaluru Rural constituency (where the Congress candidate in the Lok Sabha elections is D K Suresh, who is the brother of Shivakumar). This was an April 21 development. On April 22, Poornachandra, our polling agent, gave a complaint to the District Deputy Commissioner, who is the Returning Officer,” the JD(S) leader said.

“Poornachandra received a message at 8 pm on April 21 asking people to 'follow a WhatsApp channel to see Prajwal Revanna’s sleaze video'. There was a message on this WhatsApp channel, 'Countdown for the release of Prajwal’s sleaze videos'," Kumaraswamy further said.

According to Kumaraswamy, one Naveen Gowda had sent the message about the "countdown".

In his complaint to the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police of Hassan district, Poornachandra has named five people including Naveen Gowda, Karthik Gowda (Revanna’s driver), Chethan and Puttaraju alias Putty, he said.

It has been more than a fortnight since the complaint made on April 21 but no action has been taken against these five people, Kumaraswamy said and demanded that they should first be arrested for "mortgaging the modesty" of women in the videos.

Kumaraswamy alleged that 25,000 pen drives were distributed in the entire state, and cited a report in a regional daily to support his claim.

“My question here is why no action was taken. If someone posts something on social media, immediately houses are searched and the person is made to sit in the police station. Why no action was taken against these five people despite a complaint?” he asked.

"Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had confidently said that all the three JD(S) candidates in the Lok Sabha elections will be defeated," Kumaraswamy said, adding, "It raises doubts about the involvement of many people."

On April 25, Karnataka State Commission for Women Chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary wrote to Siddaramaiah demanding an SIT probe into the tapes where Prajwal is allegedly seen sexually abusing several women. The same night, the CM gave his nod and ordered the formation of a SIT, Kumaraswamy said.

“In that letter, Nagalakshmi Chowdhary did not mention the name of Prajwal or Revanna but the chief minister called it ‘Prajwal Revanna’s explicit videos’ in his post on X when he announced the formation of SIT. This shows how the conspiracy was hatched,” the JD(S) leader claimed.

He also alleged that the first complaint "framing" his brother H D Revanna and nephew Prajwal was typed on a computer in Bengaluru and was sent to Holenarasipura, which is represented in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly by Revanna, on April 28.

“It’s not a Special Investigation Team but there are two teams within it – one is ‘Siddaramaiah Investigation Team’ and another one is ‘Shivakumar Investigation Team’,” he charged.

He said the ‘convenor’ of the 'pen drive story', Karthik Gowda should be traced first and brought before the people.

“Going through the conspiracies, one can doubt the intention behind the investigation because more than protecting the women victims, you are limiting the scope of the probe only to defame people,” Kumaraswamy further alleged.

He underlined that he was not trying to protect anyone. “I have said that in this case I will not protect anyone doing wrong. Stringent punishment should be given to the person involved in this crime as per the law of land."

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has written to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging him to extend all possible help to the victims of JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna's alleged sexual abuse.

In a letter to Siddaramaiah, Gandhi condemned the actions of Revanna, an MP from Hassan in Karnataka, and accused him of enjoying immunity with the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

In a veiled attack on Modi, the Congress leader said he has never come across a senior public representative who has constantly chosen silence in the face of untold violence against women.

"I request you to kindly extend all possible support to the victims," Gandhi said in his letter to the Karnataka chief minister.

"They deserve our compassion and solidarity as they fight their battle for justice. We have a collective duty to ensure that all parties responsible for these heinous crimes are brought to book," he added.

Describing the incidents as "horrific sexual violence" unleashed by the incumbent Member of Parliament, Gandhi alleged that Revanna sexually assaulted and filmed hundreds of women over several years.

"Many who looked up to him as a brother and son were brutalised in the most violent manner and robbed of their dignity. The rape of our mothers and sisters warrants the strictest possible punishment."

"I am deeply shocked to learn that as far back as December 2023, our Home Minister Shri Amit Shah was informed by Shri G Devaraje Gowda about Prajwal Revanna's antecedents, especially his history of sexual violence and the presence of videos filmed by the perpetrator," the former Congress chief said.

He said what is even more shocking is that despite these gruesome allegations being brought to the notice of the seniormost leadership of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, Modi campaigned and canvassed for a "mass rapist".

"Furthermore, the Union government wilfully allowed him to flee India to derail any meaningful investigation. The deeply perverse nature of these crimes and the absolute immunity enjoyed by Prajwal Revanna with the blessings of the Prime Minister and Home Minister deserves the strongest condemnation," Gandhi said.

"In my two decades in public life, I have never come across a senior public representative who has constantly chosen silence in the face of untold violence against women. From our wrestlers in Haryana to our sisters in Manipur, Indian women are bearing the brunt of the Prime Minister's tacit support for such criminals," he alleged.

In this backdrop, Gandhi said the Congress has a moral duty to fight for justice for "our mothers and sisters".

"I understand that the Karnataka government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the grave allegations, and a request has been made to the Prime Minister to cancel Prajwal Revanna's diplomatic passport and get him extradited to India at the earliest," he said.

H D Revanna, the Janata Dal (Secular) MLA from Holenarasipura in Karnataka's Hassan district, is the son of former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and elder brother of former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy. He is facing allegations of sexually abusing women.