Karnataka: Criminal on the run leaves BJP on the backfoot

A notorious criminal who is on the run has become the latest source of embarrassment to the ruling BJP in Karnataka. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai says an investigation has been launched into the many activities of Santro Ravi and action is on seize his properties.

“I have ordered a comprehensive investigation. Many cases have been registered against him, and all during the Congress tenure. He was also released when the Congress was in power,” he said.

Criminal history

Santro Ravi, Bommai said, has a 20-year history of crime. The investigation will bring out his connections and links with Ministers and various governments. Home Minister Aaraga Jnanendra said the police are interrogating his associates and he will be arrested soon.

Formerly from Mysuru, the 52-year-old Santro Ravi’s real name is Manjunath. Son of an Excise Department official, he has been linked to a string of criminal activities.

Manjunath, jailed for the first time in 1995 in a kidnapping case, later changed his name to Ravi. As he used a Santro car, he ended up with a new name: Santro Ravi.

Filthy rich

Cases are registered against him in many police stations including Mysuru and Bengaluru. He has gone to jail many times for two-wheeler and car thefts, kidnapping and prostitution.

Over time, he allegedly came to own houses in Wilson Garden, RR Nagar and Malleshwaram in Bengaluru and three bungalows in Mysuru, according to the police.

With Assembly elections in Karnataka not too far away, the Opposition has mounted a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, linking Santro Ravi with its leaders including ministers.

Santro Ravi has also been blamed for orchestrating transfers of police officials because of his political clout.

Kumaraswamy’s charges

Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has alleged that Santro Ravi played a key role in bringing down his coalition government in 2019 by shepherding 13 MLAs to Mumbai.

Kumaraswamy has demanded to know the links between Santro Ravi and ministers in the BJP government. “We want a detailed probe into the matter.” The Opposition is said to behind the leakage of some videos showing close links between a section of politicians and Santro Ravi.

Political sources say that although the Karnataka government has put on a brave face, there is concern about what all would come tumbling out if and when Santro Ravi decides to sing. A few political actors, one source said, are worried that his arrest may prove costly for them.

Kumaraswamy has also said that Santro Ravi was allegedly involved in the transfer of police officers. According to him, Santro Ravi at times operated from the Government guest house Kumara Kripa in Bengaluru.

Congress allegations

The Congress has branded Santro Ravi the “Chief Broker” of the BJP government and said that the Chief Minister and some ministers will have to resign if a fair probe is ordered into this man.

Odanadi, an NGO from Mysuru, had earlier complained about Santro Ravi to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitraraman, seeking action against Santro Ravi. A case was registered against him at the Vijayanagar Police Station in Mysore on January 4 on charges of sexually assaulting a young Dalit woman by promising her a job and then forcibly marrying her.

This case is the reason why Santro Ravi suddenly became a talking point in Karnataka. Of the 14 criminal cases he faces, 10 relate to prostitution. The police had in 2005 initiated the Goonda Act against him and he spent 11 months in prison.

Flesh trade

Police are said to have information that he used to traffic women from both abroad and within India to push them into flesh trade.

According to Kumaraswamy, in a letter written to one Jagdish, who had filed a police complaint against Santro Ravi, the criminal claimed he was a BJP worker and had extensive contacts with the ruling party.

The former Chief Minister said Santro Ravi, true to his recently acquired political beliefs, always sported saffron. “The BJP has spoiled the sanctity of wearing saffron,” Kumaraswamy said. “Aren’t the Chief Minister and Home Minister ashamed?”

Meanwhile, Bommai hit back at the Congress. Commenting on a tweet by former KPCC President and MLA Dinesh Gundurrao saying that Santro Ravi is a BJP worker, the CM told reporters on Thursday that instructions have been given to find out whether Ravi is a BJP worker or not.

The Congress is politically bankrupt and Dinesh knows well the kind of people in his party, said Bommai. “I will not stoop to that level. First, the Congress leaders learn to keep their house in order. I don’t have any information about the arrest of Santro Ravi.”