Bengaluru (PTI): Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi would address an election rally in Hubballi on Saturday, her first campaign meeting for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka. The Congress candidate in Hubballi-Dharwad Central is former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who joined the party after being denied ticket to contest the elections by the BJP.

The BJP has fielded Mahesh Tenginkai in this segment.

The fight between Shettar and Tenginkai has become a prestigious battle of sorts for the ruling BJP and the Congress, which are putting all their might behind their candidates.

ALSO READ: Barred entry into Dharwad, Vinay Kulkarni's wife, daughter slug it out as campaign heats up

"Sonia Gandhi will arrive at around 12.30 pm on May 6, and after addressing an election rally, she is slated to return from there at around 3.30 pm. This is her only public meeting," party sources told PTI on Thursday.

AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge, who hails from the State, and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have been campaigning extensively in Karnataka, where the party is seeking to wrest power from the BJP.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would hold a 36.6 km road-show in Bengaluru.

The road-show would pass through the city's 17 Assembly constituencies.

The Prime Minister would cover a distance of 10.1 km from 11 am to 1 pm, and 26.5 km from 4 pm to 10 pm, BJP leaders said.

May 8 is the last day for campaigning, and the counting of votes is on May 13.

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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.