Karnataka police on Friday arrested KS Manjunath alias ‘Santro Ravi’, accused of involvement in several prostitution cases and his alleged closeness to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, from Ahmedabad, police said.
Additional director general of police (law and order) Alok Kumar, addressing a press conference in Mysuru, said that teams were sent to neighbouring states, including Telangana and Kerala.
“Ravi has been arrested near Ahmedabad, and we have already secured a transit warrant. He will be brought to Karnataka soon,” Alok Kumar told the media. He added that Ravi had been changing his locations and mobile phones, which made it difficult for the police to track him.
Alok Kumar said Ravi would be brought to Mysuru by Saturday after he is produced before a magistrate in Gujarat.
“He had removed his wig and shaved his moustache to hide his identity. Once he is brought to Mysuru, a comprehensive investigation into all 28 cases against him, including kidnap, and allegations about all his connections will be done,” he said.
“His associates Shruthesh and Madhusudan from Mysuru and Ramji from Kochi have been arrested. For now, they will be booked for harbouring him, and after questioning them, further action will be taken,” he said.
“He had been frequently changing his location in Karnataka. Later, he started changing his mobile phone and went out of the state. He first went to Kerala before shifting base to Gujarat, from where our teams picked him up,” said Kumar talking about the investigation.
“All due procedure will be followed. He will be brought to Karnataka after obtaining a transit warrant from a local court in Gujarat,” he added.
Ravi has been arrested in connection with a case filed by his wife in Mysuru, alleging she was drugged, raped and forced into marriage in 2019. She had responded to a job vacancy advertisement in a local newspaper and was allegedly summoned by Manjunath for an interview. During that meeting, he allegedly drugged her, raped her and later forced her to marry him.
When she tried to separate from him, he allegedly framed her in a fake dacoity case at Cottonpet Police Station in Bengaluru in November 2022 and got her arrested, according to the complainant. Following an internal inquiry, Inspector Praveen KV, who was in charge of Cottonpet Police Station, was suspended.
