Two audio clips and a bunch of photographs have landed Karnataka’s BJP government in yet another scandal, even as the party is preparing full throttle for the Assembly polls. One of the audio clips has a police officer allegedly negotiating a transfer deal with a man named ‘Santro’ Ravi. KS Manjunath, who goes by 'Santro' Ravi, has a lengthy criminal history and has been arrested several times in the last two decades for trafficking women and children for sex. In the audio clip involving the police officer, 'Santro' Ravi can be heard bragging about his connections with the BJP government and the police. The audio clips have gone viral along with photographs of Ravi with several ministers including Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, Health Minister K Sudhakar and Primary Education Minister BC Nagesh.
The audio clip was first put out by a Kannada news channel. In one clip attributed to Ravi, he is heard telling a police officer that he will get him transferred to Nelamangala taluk’s traffic division. He also says that he has already promised a post in Kumbalgodu Police Station to someone else. Ravi also assures the police officer that he is on ‘one-to-one terms’ with top police officers and names three of them - an ADGP, an ACP and a DGP level officer.
In another clip, purportedly with a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ravi is heard bragging that even the Chief Minister calls him ‘sir’ and that the officer should meet him at the state Kumara Krupa Guest House in Bengaluru. An NGO named Odanadi Seva Samsthe, which was also part of the expose, said that the audio clips and photographs showed the rot in the police and political system.
Latching on to the issue, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy held a press conference and demanded a thorough probe into the scandal. He alleged that several ministers in the Bommai cabinet have been photographed with Ravi, who has been booked for rape and trafficking in the past. He pointed out that all the pictures seem to have been taken inside the offices of the respective ministers.
'Santro' Ravi with Primary Education Minister BC Nagesh
'Santro' Ravi with Health Minister K Sudhakar
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has denied allegations that he has links with a man who has a history of human trafficking. Home Minister Araga Jnanendra told reporters on Thursday that if there are pending cases against Ravi, the police department will not hesitate to take action against him. Araga Jnanendra issued a statement, denying any connection with Ravi and added that everyday people come to him with petitions and take photographs but that does not mean he knows all of them.
Ravi has a series of cases from dowry harassment to human trafficking against him in several police stations across Karnataka dating back from 2003. Manjunath got the prefix ‘Santro’ purportedly because he used a Hyundai Santro car to kidnap women who were then forced into the flesh trade.
Most recently, he had been booked under Dowry Prohibition Act and SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act in Mysuru, based on a complaint by a Dalit woman who alleged that he raped her and threatened her to marry him. She alleged that when she responded to a job advertisement he had placed in a local newspaper, he drugged her with sedatives and then blackmailed her into marrying him.
In 2018, police raided a luxury hotel in Bengaluru’s JP Nagar and rescued a woman who had allegedly been trafficked for sex. Ravi had been named the kingpin behind the operation but he allegedly fled before the police could nab him. He had already been named as a habitual offender in police records and had been booked in several cases before that. Earlier the same year, he had been arrested on charges of human trafficking by Vijayanagar police, was remanded to judicial custody and was later granted bail.
In 2006, while hearing a petition challenging Ravi’s detention, the Karnataka High Court noted that he was already involved in 12 criminal cases and had been accused of rape and trafficking. “He is accused of trafficking young girls, rape and other heinous crimes. He has been arrested, detained and released on bail in several cases and in one case he is in judicial custody.”
Upholding his detention, the HC said, “Because of the activities of the detenu, an atmosphere of fear is created in the minds of the public and witnesses are afraid of coming and deposing against him in the cases registered against him and those who come to Court to give evidence are turning hostile and some are avoiding to’ come to Court to give evidence. Thus, he has been successful in preventing the prosecution of the cases launched against him legally.”