Claiming that as Karnataka Home minister, he draws hundreds of visitors every day, Araga Jnanendra on Monday dismissed former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy's allegation that he is related to Santro Ravi, an alleged kingpin of a human trafficking racket.
"HD Kumaraswamy, who was the chief minister of the state, was lying when he said Santro Ravi counted money at my residence. The extent of his desperation, which led him to make such allegations, is shocking," Jnanendra told reporters on Sunday.
"As the HomemMinister, I am visited daily by hundreds of people, including those belonging to the margins of society. It isn't possible to do a background check on every visitor," Jnanendra further said.
The minister 'challenged' Kumaraswamy to prove his allegations.
"I don't know why he is after me. I don't know how this will benefit him. I dare Kumaraswamy to prove his allegations against me," the Home minister said.
He added that he has directed the police to investigate and inquire into the 'background' of Santro Ravi.
Kumaraswamy had earlier alleged that Santro Ravi had counted money at Jnanendra's residence.
Meanwhile, intensifying their attack on the BJP by posting several images of party leaders and state ministers with 'Santro Ravi' alias KS Manjunath, the Congress claimed several ruling party leaders were closely linked to the alleged human trafficking accused.
Posting an image of State Education Minister B C Nagesh along with Santro Ravi, Karnataka Congress posted on its official Twitter handle, "All the ministers of BJP are closely related to Santro Ravi in a prostitution racket, transfer racket. Is the Minister of Education B C Nagesh also a beneficiary of his racket? BJP government? Is the government controlled by pimps? How many more brokers are there for the Commission government."
Purported audio clips of 'Santro Ravi' bragging about his 'proximity' with government and police officers are also doing the rounds.
Responding to the allegations, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Saturday, "One can't draw such conclusions from an image. What is important is that a case has been registered against him. A girl lodged a complaint against him. I am sure there will be an investigation in all the cases against him."
The CM added that he had instructed the Mysuru police to conduct a thorough probe in the case and also look into fresh complaints against Ravi. "The truth must come out," the CM added.
It is alleged that Ravi is highly connected and the police will probe his background and antecedents and move legally against him, Bommai informed.
Hitting out at the Opposition, he said, "Santro Ravi has connections not only with Opposition parties but with political leaders in the last 20 years. Only an investigation will bring out the truth."
On former Karnataka CM and Janata Dal (Secular) leader Kumaraswamy releasing purported audio and video clips featuring Santro Ravi, Bommai said all evolving developments in the matter will be part of the investigation.
( With inputs from ANI )
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