Puttur: Krishna J. Rao, son of senior BJP leader P.G. Jagannivasa Rao, who had been absconding after a complaint was filed against him for engaging in sexual relations with a fellow student under the false promise of marriage and later refusing to marry her, has been arrested by police near Mysuru. He is expected to be produced before the court on Saturday.

According to police sources, Krishna, who was a high school classmate of the survivor and is currently a college student, allegedly developed a relationship with her and invited her to his house when no one was present. There, he engaged in sexual intercourse with her under the assurance that they would get married. The girl later became pregnant and recently gave birth to a baby boy.

The initial complaint was filed at the Puttur Women’s Police Station on June 11. At that time, the accused’s father submitted a written statement to the police, assuring that Krishna would marry the survivor after turning 21 on June 23. He also stated that legal action could be taken if the marriage did not take place.

However, after Krishna reached the age of 21, he allegedly refused to marry her. The survivor then lodged a formal complaint again on June 24. Following this, Krishna went into hiding, after which the police launched a search operation.

In the meantime, P.G. Jagannivasa Rao was admitted to Mahaveer Hospital due to health complications. DYSP Arun Nagegowda visited the hospital to assess his condition and informed the family to cooperate in locating Krishna. A photograph of the accused with three others inside a car had also gone viral on social media, increasing public outrage.

With growing pressure from various social organisations and rights groups, and after visits from leaders such as Karnataka Backward Classes Commission member Pratibha Kulai, the police formed a special team to trace the accused.

Shortly after P.G. Jagannivasa Rao was discharged from the hospital on July 4, police took him along during their search. They finally located Krishna near Mysuru and took him into custody. He has now been brought to Puttur and remains under police custody.

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Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.

The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.

Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.

She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.

"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.

The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.

Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.

Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.

She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.

She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.

Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.

Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.

"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.

Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.

Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.

"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.

Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.

Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.

She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.

The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.

Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.

Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."

"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.

"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.