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On the run after abusing municipal commissioner, Karnataka Congress leader Rajeev Gowda arrested

Rajeev Gowda was arrested while travelling to Goa, according to the Karnataka police.

2 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jan 26, 2026 09:13 PM IST

Rajeev Gowda allegedly called Shidlaghatta Municipal Council Commissioner Amrutha Gowda, used abusive language, and threatened civic staff over the removal of unauthorised banners. (File Photo)

The Karnataka Police on Monday arrested suspended Congress leader Rajeev Gowda for allegedly abusing and threatening the Shidlaghatta municipal council commissioner over the phone for removing “unauthorised” banners put up in the town in Chikkaballapur district.

A police officer said that Rajeev Gowda had gone to Mangaluru in his car and boarded a train to Kerala after his conduct triggered outrage. But he was arrested while travelling to Goa and is now being brought to Chikkaballapur, the officer added.

An FIR against Rajeev Gowda was registered after Amrutha Gowda, the municipal council commissioner, filed a police complaint. She alleged that on January 12, Rajeev Gowda called her, used abusive language, demanded the banners be reinstalled immediately, and threatened civic staff. She added that he warned that he would mobilise people from multiple wards, incite unrest, damage public property, and obstruct city council functions. She said the call caused severe mental distress to her and her staff.

The FIR was registered under sections 132 (assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant), 224 (threat of injury to a public servant), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), and 56 (abetment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

A second FIR was registered against the Congress leader after N C Srinivasa Gowda, a farmer and the JD(S) taluk vice-president, complained that during the same call, Rajeev Gowda made provocative statements, abused Shidlaghatta MLA B N Ravikumar, and falsely blamed him for the removal of the banners. The complaint also stated that Rajeev Gowda had threatened to mobilise people from 31 wards, damage government offices, and incite violence, while making indecent remarks against women government officials. A purported audio of the call circulated widely on social media.

This FIR was registered under BNS sections 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 353(2) (offences related to public mischief from false statements).

On January 22, the Karnataka High Court refused to quash the FIR when Rajeev Gowda approached it. The ruling Congress suspended him after facing the ire of the public as well as the Opposition over the incident.

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