Bengaluru (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will arrive in poll-bound Karnataka on a two-day visit to take part in a host of events, including party rally in Kolar on Sunday.

This is the maiden visit of Gandhi to the state after his disqualification from the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a 2019 defamation case.

According to party sources, the former Congress president is expected to reach Bengaluru in the morning and then proceed to Kolar by a helicopter.

Gandhi will address a public meeting in Kolar as part of Congress' 'Jai Bharat' rally.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign in Kolar, Rahul Gandhi had made the Modi surname remark, which led to his conviction by a Gujarat court and his subsequent disqualification from Parliament.

The Kolar event, which was earlier called 'Satyameva Jayate', was scheduled to take place on April 5, but was postponed twice. The even renamed as 'Jai Bharat' rally was rescheduled to April 16.

After his address in Kolar, the Congress leader will return to Bengaluru by helicopter in the afternoon.

Later, in the evening, Gandhi will interact with the 'Pourakarmika', the sanitation workers and street vendors in the state capital.

After the meeting, he will inaugurate the newly-built Indira Gandhi Bhawan, office and auditorium with a seating capacity of 750 people,in the city.

The leader will stay at a hotel in Bengaluru tonight. On Monday, he will take a special flight from the HAL airport to Bkhalki in Bidar district, where he will address a public meeting.

Congress working president Eshwar Khandre is contesting from Bhalki.

Rahul Gandhi will address another public meeting in Humnabad in the same district. The Congress has fielded Rajashekar Basavaraj Patil in this assembly segment.

In the afternoon, the Gandhi scion will travel to Hyderabad by a helicopter from where he will fly back to Delhi.

For the 224-seat assembly, the Congress has so far announced candidates for 209 seats, including 124 in the first list, 42 in the second list and 43 in the third.

The party is yet to announce seats of 15 more candidates.

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Mathura(UP), Apr 5 (PTI): A retired Army colonel from Haryana has filed a police complaint here, alleging that he was held hostage, assaulted, looted and forced to participate in an "obscene video" at gunpoint with a woman he met through a matrimonial website, police said on Saturday.

The woman from Mathura, who was allegedly in on the plan to rob him, was working with other accomplices, the ex-armyman said in his complaint filed on Thursday.

According to Barsana Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kamal Singh, Colonel Rajneesh Soni (retired), a resident of Gurugram, reported that he was contacted by a woman from Barsana on a matrimonial website in January. The woman allegedly agreed to marry him, and they began communicating.

The woman allegedly persuaded the colonel to visit Barsana on January 25, requesting that he visit the Radharani temple. When he arrived, she arranged for his stay at a guest house and took him on a tour of the area, including a visit to the temple, the complainant said.

After returning to the guest house, the woman and her accomplices allegedly told the colonel that her brother had been involved in an accident and they needed to leave immediately. They then led him to a waiting car.

"Once outside the town limits, the colonel alleges that he was attacked by the occupants of the car. They seized his phone, physically assaulted him, and forced him to contact relatives and friends to transfer money," the SHO said.

"He was then taken back to the guest house, where he was allegedly forced to participate in obscene videos and photographs at gunpoint. He was threatened that the videos would be made public if he reported the incident," the officer said.

The colonel has alleged that his purse, bag, gold chain, debit card and Rs. 12,000 in cash were stolen from the guest house.

After an unsuccessful attempt at locating the perpetrators himself, the colonel finally reported the incident to the Barsana police two days ago, he said.

"A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS and all facts are being investigated. Further action will be taken as per facts found in the investigation," the SHO said.