Businessman held for 'stalking, harassing' Kannada film actress
Bengaluru, Nov 15 (PTI): A businessman was arrested on Saturday for allegedly stalking, intimidating and harassing a Kannada film actress, police said.
The accused was identified as Aravind Venkatesh Reddy.
In her complaint, the 36-year-old actress stated that she had known Reddy since 2021 and first met him at an event in Sri Lanka in 2022. He maintained a cordial relationship with her for a few months and befriended her.
According to the complaint, they were initially in a live-in relationship. He was affectionate and caring at first, but his behaviour soon turned obsessive and threatening. The accused would often come home drunk, due to which she distanced herself from him.
Despite her attempts to stay away, the accused allegedly followed her everywhere, tracked her location, and on Instagram, morphed her photographs and posted them to insult her, the complaint said.
He also allegedly sent some men to the complainant’s parental home to create trouble. He threatened to kill her younger brother and harassed her, insisting that she continue the relationship with him, she claimed.
In April 2024, distressed by alleged mental and physical harassment, the actress attempted suicide at her residence here after Reddy allegedly threatened to forcibly marry her, the FIR stated.
The harassment continued, including demands for Rs one crore, attempts to defame her before her family, and persistent tracking, it added.
Based on the allegations stated in the complaint, a case was registered at Rajarajeshwarinagar police station on October 17 under Sections 78(2) (stalking), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, a senior police officer said.
The case was later transferred to Govindarajanagar police station and, based on the investigation, the accused was arrested today, he said.
The mobile phone allegedly used by him to commit the offence has also been seized, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
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Gandhi a way of thinking which ideology of hate unsuccessfully tried to erase: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Mahatma Gandhi is not just a person, but a way of thinking that an empire, an ideology of hatred and arrogance of power unsuccessfully tried to erase at different points in time.
Terming Mahatma Gandhi the "immortal soul of India", the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha paid tributes to the Father of the Nation on his death anniversary, saying that along with Independence, he gave the nation a fundamental principle that the power of truth is greater than the power of authority.
"Mahatma Gandhi is not just a person, but a way of thinking that an empire, an ideology of hatred, and an arrogance of power have all unsuccessfully tried to erase at different points in time," he said in a post in Hindi on X.
"The Father of the Nation gave us, along with Independence, the fundamental principle that the power of truth is greater than the power of authority and that non-violence and courage are greater than violence and fear," Rahul Gandhi said.
This way of thinking cannot be extinguished, because Gandhi is immortal in the soul of India, he added.
Rahul Gandhi also paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Smriti at Tees January Marg here on Martyrs' Day, remembering the life and sacrifice of the Father of the Nation.
"His legacy of truth, courage, and compassion continues to guide our path and remind us of an India we must keep striving for -- just, harmonious, and united," the former Congress chief said in a Facebook post.
Sharing lines of a Bhajan that Mahatma Gandhi used to sing, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "The hatred that separated us from Bapu, its solution also lies in Bapu's path. The light of truth, the power of non-violence, and the compassion of love. Homage to the Father of the Nation on Martyr's Day."
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary.
Party general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, recalled two separate letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1948 to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, in which they strongly criticised and raised questions on the activities of the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS.
"Both are damning indictments of the self-declared custodians of nationalism. And to think that there is a Lok Sabha MP wedded to that ideology and who was blessed by the PM himself, who said that he could not choose between Gandhi and Godse. His mindset is revealing," Ramesh said on X, in an apparent reference to BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay's controversial remarks in 2024.
Ramesh also shared a link to Nehru's address on All India Radio on the night of January 30, 1948, after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.
In his letter to Mookerjee, Nehru had said the Hindu Mahasabha had held meetings in Pune, Ahmednagar and Delhi in defiance of the ban order.
"Speeches were delivered that Mahatma Gandhi was an impediment, and the sooner he died, the better it would be for the country. The RSS has behaved in an even worse way, and we have collected a mass of information about its very objectionable activities," Nehru had said in his letter.
Ramesh also shared a screenshot of Patel's letter to Mookerjee in which the former criticised the activities of the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha.
Paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi, Congress general secretary in charge of the organisation, K C Venugopal, said that on this day in 1948, the greatest soul to ever guide India and the world was "snatched away from us".
"Today, on Martyrs Day, let's remember Bapu's eternal teachings of Satya and Ahimsa, and warn ourselves of the culture of hate and violence that gave rise to his assassins," he said on X.
"In 2026, the threat remains of their ideological descendants eager to wipe out Gandhiji from our national consciousness. Repeatedly, we see those in the ruling regime evangelise his killers, encourage hate, and are now erasing entire schemes named after Mahatma Gandhi," Venugopal said.
The powers that be may have a delusion that they will succeed in diminishing Bapu through such acts, he said. "But Mahatma Gandhi and his values are deeply embedded in India's psyche, and no amount of effort from those who oppose him can ever succeed in erasing his towering legacy.
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on this day in 1948. India observes the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as Martyrs' Day to honour the life and legacy of the nation's foremost leader and his ultimate sacrifice for peace, justice, and freedom.
महात्मा गांधी एक व्यक्ति नहीं, एक सोच हैं - वह सोच जिसे कभी एक साम्राज्य ने, कभी एक नफ़रत की विचारधारा ने और कभी अहंकारी सत्ता ने मिटाने की असफल कोशिश की।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 30, 2026
मगर राष्ट्रपिता ने हमें आज़ादी के साथ यह मूलमंत्र दिया कि सत्ता की ताक़त से बड़ी सत्य की शक्ति होती है - और हिंसा व भय से… pic.twitter.com/Hm1frzS3jW
