Santro Ravi denied knowing Kannada during his arrest in Gujarat: Police

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: KS Manjunath alias 'Santro Ravi,' an alleged human trafficker who was arrested by the police after an intense probe of eleven days, was initially subjected to preliminary inquiry by the city police.

There are allegations that the accused was interrogated only about his whereabouts and the places he had visited during his run instead of the criminal cases he was said to be involved in. Manjunath had been on the run and is said to have sought refuge in Kerala before absconding to Gujarat. Meanwhile the Karnataka police had formed teams to nab him.

One of the teams involved in the operations included 19 officers from various police stations across the state including Superintendent of Police (SPs) from Ramanagar, Mandya and Raichur districts along with two Deputy Commissioner of Police from Mysuru.

The police received a hint about the 51-year old's whereabouts after they interrogated his first wife. Immediately the Karnataka police alerted their counterparts in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Speaking to News Trail, sources from the police said that when a team in Mufti approached the accused to confirm his identity, Manjunath had denied knowing Kannada and asked the cops to speak in Hindi.

"When the cops spotted him near a market, they initially called him out by his name, Manju, to confirm his identity. However when he did not turn back, they approached him and spoke in Kannada to see how he would react. To their surprise, he said that he does not know Kannada and asked them to speak in Hindi," the sources said.

He was arrested by the police and on Friday was brought back to the state and was initially taken to Vijayanagar police station in Mysuru. He was next presented before the court who remanded him to judicial custody. Soon after Manjunath's arrest, Karnataka Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, Alok Kumar visited Nimishamba temple in Srirangapatna on Saturday to thank the goddess for her blessing.

He claimed to have a strong faith in the Goddess for the last 12 years and said that he had kept a vow to visit the Goddess if Manjunath was arrested. The ADGP also said that the accused is so far cooperating with the police during his inquiry. "He is currently being questioned only about the case filed against him at Vijayanagar police station which is considered a priority. Inquiry relating to other cases will be conducted later," he informed.