The Karnataka Police has arrested suspended Congress leader Rajeev Gowda for allegedly using abusive words and threatening Shidlaghatta Municipal Commissioner Amrutha Gowda, said officials on Monday. Gowda had been absconding for several days and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had questioned the police over it, asking officials to ensure his arrest as soon as possible.
Later, Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara had directed the police to immediately arrest Gowda. "I directed the police to arrest him on the very first day. However, the accused absconded before he could be taken into custody. There is no political pressure or compromise. The police have been told to act decisively," he had said.
Gowda, meanwhile, was suspended from Congress last week. He was fielded by the grand old party during the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections from Shidlaghatta constituency in the Chikkaballapura district. However, he had lost the elections.
The action came party leader S Manohar wrote a letter to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and said Gowda must be immediately suspended for abusing and threatening a woman official. In his letter, Manohar had called Gowda's action "highly condemnable, offensive and abusive".
"Derogatory and obscene language against officers performing their duties within the constitutional framework cannot be justified under any circumstances," he had said.
Later, the police registered a first information report (FIR) based on a complaint filed by Amrutha, which ultimately forced Congress to suspend Gowda.
Meanwhile, the incident also gave the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to attack the Congress government and it alleged that the party is trying to protect Gowda. "Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa is hailing him (Rajeev Gowda) by calling him a good man. The Minister found fault with the municipal commissioner saying that she did not inform the Deputy Commissioner of the Chikkaballapura district. Congress leaders should be ashamed," R Ashoka, BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, said.
