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Minister's Son Booked For Raping Actor

Minister's Son Booked For Raping Actor

In a fresh controversy for the Modi government, the son of Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda has been booked for rape and cheating on a complaint by Kannada film actor Maithreyi. The Gowdas denied the charges Thursday, even as Maithreyi was summoned by police to record her statement but did not appear.

"We have booked a case against Karthik Gowda after the woman filed a complaint Wednesday... under sections 376 (rape) and 420 (cheating)," Deputy Police Commissioner T.R. Suresh told IANS.

Maithreyi accused the 30-year-old Karthik Gowda of sexually abusing and cheating her by getting engaged to another woman after marrying her "secretly" June 5 in Mangalore.

She made the charge Wednesday after learning about Karthik's engagement to Rajashri alias Swathi, daughter of industrialist Nanaiah, in Kodagu district.

The incident came a day after the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and BJP president Amit Shah Wednesday came out in support of Home Minister Rajnath Singh who had threatened to quit over charges of unexplained misconduct against his son Pankaj Singh.

According to Maithreyi's complaint, Karthik married her at his house in Mangalore and promised her a public wedding after convincing his parents.

"I met Karthik in Bangalore in May through a common friend and we became close over the weeks and had an affair after he assured he will marry me," Maithreyi said in the complaint.

Sadananda Gowda said neither he nor his wife knew about their son's alleged secret wedding to Maithreyi.

"It is a gimmick indulged by my political opponents for cheap publicity. As a case has been registered against my son, let the law take its course and justice prevail," an upset Sadananda Gowda told reporters in Mangalore.

Echoing his father, Karthik Gowda told reporters in Kushalnagar that Maithreyi's claims were false and pictures showing them together were morphed.

"Someone behind her is trying to malign my father's clean image," he said.

Meanwhile, Bangalore police Thursday summoned Maithreyi for recording her statement.

"We have summoned Maithreyi to record her statement. But she is not cooperating and did not report to the police station throughout the day," circle inspector S. Raghupathy of R.T. Nagar police station told IANS.

Police directed Maithreyi to go for a medical test at the Ambedkar Medical College for Venereal Disease Research Lab to verify her charge that Karthik sexually abused her a couple of times.

"We are waiting for the medical report. If she tests positive, we will ask Karthik to take the test to ascertain if he had a physical relationship with her," Raghupathy said.

Instead of going to the police station, Maithreyi visited a temple Thursday and spent hours in studios of local news channels, giving her version of events.

"I request the media to help me in getting justice, as I feel cheated and betrayed by Karthik who is my husband. We have also consummated our marriage, which happened June 5 when he tied a thread with turmeric pieces (mangalasutra or thalli) in front of his family deity in his house at Mangalore though nobody except his car driver was present," she said at a press conference.

Admitting that she had no legal or documentary evidence, or witnesses supporting her claims, Maithreyi said Karthik promised to marry her formally in a grand way after convincing his parents.

"As I was also in love with Karthik and trusted him, I agreed to go with him wherever he took me and yielded to his requests for physical intimacy, as we both were married and were conducting as wife and husband. He even introduced me to his close friends as his wife," Maithreyi said.

Contending that she filed a police complaint not to blackmail the Gowda family but to get Karthik back as her husband, Maithreyi said she tried to convince his mother that they both were married but did not succeed.

"Karthik stopped taking my calls and his mother told me when I met her in Bangalore Aug 11 to keep away from him as he would not marry me and that I should forget him and look for another man to marry and settle down," the actor said.

Meanwhile, Congress activists staged a protest in the city and sought Gowda's resignation and Karthik's arrest.

As a model-turned small-time actress, Maithreyi acted in a couple of Kannada films like "Surya The Great" with Ajai Rao and "Maurya" starring Puneeth Rajkumar, son of thespian Rajkumar.

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