Karthik Gowda: Arrest ordered but put on hold

Bengaluru: The Eighth Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court issued an arrest warrant on Thursday against Karthik Gowda, son of Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda, for not responding to two notices that were sent by the R.T. Nagar police to his residence to present himself before the Investigation Officer (IO) to give his statement on the case filed by Mythriya Gowda, accusing him of raping and cheating her in marriage.

“The police are following the procedures as per the law. Investigating officer, ACP J.C. Nagar Sub-Division, Omkaraiah has sent the accused two notices to present himself for questioning, but there was no response. Now as the arrest warrant is there, the police will initiate action as per the substance of the warrant,” Alok Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police told Deccan Chronicle.

Though eight days have passed since the police complaint was lodged, the police have managed to only record the statement of the complainant, while the accused still remains untraced. Armed with the arrest warrant, the police may arrest the minister's son at any point of time, police sources said.

Meanwhile, the anticipatory bail plea hearing that came up on Thursday afternoon at a sessions court got adjourned to Friday as arguments by Karthik’s counsel B.V. Acharya and the prosecution remained inconclusive. While the police have filed objection to granting anticipatory bail to Karthik, Mythriya Gowda's lawyer too filed an application seeking to assist the prosecution.

Youth Congress plaint
Meanwhile the Youth Congress Members on Thursday filed a complaint with the police commissioner, M.N. Reddi, to initiate legal action against Rishi, a sandalwood director who recently claimed that he and Mythriya got married 10 years ago. “If Mythriya was married to Rishi 10 years ago, the former would have been a minor and their marriage would not be valid, and this is purely an attempt to malign her character. The police should probe into Rishi’s untimely interference in the Mythria case as everything is possible with an influential individual like Karthik Gowda,” D. A. Pramod Shankar, a Youth Congress member told Deccan Chronicle.

In their complaint they also complained about the lackadaisical ways of police in probing into the case of the actress and the accused, being a union minister’s son, should recorded his statement with the police and not remain absconding like this, said S. Manohar, District President, Youth Congress.