Vinod M Jain
A day after Congress leader Rajeev Gowda was arrested near the Kerala border and remanded to judicial custody, The Shidlaghatta Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court on Wednesday granted two days of police custody to the police for further investigation.
The court rejected Gowda’s bail application and accepted the prosecution’s submission seeking his custodial interrogation.
Police are likely to take him into custody on Thursday to probe the circumstances surrounding the incident, including his alleged escape routes and the possible involvement of others who may have assisted him while he was absconding.
Earlier the police had arrested,Michael,an industrialist from Mangaluru for allegedly providing shelter to Rajeev Gowda and was granted bail .
The case pertains to the removal of a movie banner of a film starring Zaid Khan,son of Karnataka Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan.
According to the complaint,Rajeev Gowda allegedly called Sidlaghatta Municipal Commissioner Amrutha Gowda,abused her using obscene language,and issued threats after the banner was taken down.
Based on the complaint filed by Ms.Amrutha Gowda,the police registered an FIR on January 14.Following this, Rajeev Gowda reportedly went absconding.
His anticipatory bail plea was earlier rejected by the trial court and subsequently, the Karnataka High Court bench also dismissed his petition seeking to quash the FIR and strongly criticised his conduct.
Earlier,the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) suspended Rajeev Gowda,who was the party’s Sidlaghatta Assembly candidate in the 2023 elections.
The controversy escalated after audio recordings, allegedly featuring Gowda threatening the municipal commissioner,surfaced on Wednesday.
The clips went viral on social media,triggering protests by municipal employees and drawing sharp political reactions across the state.
