BENGALURU: Social media influencer and Kannada Bigg Boss fame 29-year-old Sonu Srinivas Gowda alias Shambhavi has been arrested by the Byadarahalli police for allegedly illegally adopting an eight-year-old girl from Raichur.
Sonu is alleged to have flouted the rules and regulations that are mandatory to be followed while adopting a child. As per the rules, there should be an age gap of at least 25 years between the adopter and the child. The actress has also been booked for disclosing the identity of the child on social media.
The case against Sonu, a resident of Syndicate Layout, was registered by the police around 9 pm on Thursday. The complaint was filed by J Geetha of the Child Protection Unit of Bengaluru West.
S Girish, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), told the media that the actress is accused of disclosing the identity of the girl in social media posts. She was arrested on Friday morning.
On March 2, Sonu had put up a social media post stating that she visited the girl’s house in Raichur and adopted her in the presence of her parents. This post landed her in trouble. According to the complaint, Sonu had not applied for any adoption.
The actress, at the time of questioning by officials, claimed innocence stating that it was just a fortnight that the girl was with her and she was not aware of the adoption procedure. Sonu further stated that the girl’s parents were working as construction labourers next to her apartment. The girl became close to her when she used to feed stray dogs. The girl then started coming to her apartment and they gradually became close.
Child Welfare Committee (CWC) officials have recorded the statements of the girl and her parents. The girl was sent to their custody till the completion of the probe. In all possibility, the child will be handed over to her parents.
Sonu has been booked under different sections of the Juvenile Justice Act along with other sections of the IPC. Further investigations are on.