KS Manjunath aka Santro Ravi, accused of human trafficking, is at the centre of fresh political row in Karnataka as leaders from both the Congress and the ruling BJP allege that he is linked with bigshots in the state. He was arrested on Friday in Gujarat after a chase of 11 days, and he would be next be questioned in Mysuru in the matter.
Who is this Santro Ravi?
Ravi was a native of Chamundeswari Nagar in Mandya and his father was reportedly an officer in Karnataka’s excise department.
His crime record dates back to early 2000 when he began stealing vehicles in the Mandya area. According to Karnataka Police, Ravi started an escort service in mid 2000. His name – ‘Santro Ravi’ – has been linked to reports of him kidnapping women in his Santro car.
In 2018, he reportedly moved to Bengaluru and stayed Rajarajeshwari Nagar area in a rented house. Recently his wife filed a police complaint against him and alleged that she was drugged and forced to marry him in 2019. She also complained that he used to offer jobs to many women and later push them into prostitution.
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A political row linked to him erupted after photographs of him with key BJP leaders surfaced on the internet. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee(KPCC) working President Dinesh Gundu Rao alleged that Santro Ravi has been a BJP worker and many such people are in the party, Former Karnataka Chief Minister and JDS leader Kumaraswamy also made allegations that Santro Ravi played a crucial role in toppling JDS-Congress coalition government in 2019.
But Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai refuted the allegations by the opposition and ordered a detailed probe against Santro Ravi last week. On Friday, the Karnataka Police nabbed him in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad and brought him to Mysuru. According to a report in Today News 24, there are 14 cases against Santro Ravi in different parts of Karnataka, out of which 10 are related to sex trafficking.
