BHATKAL(UTTARA KANNADA): In a shocking incident, a police sub-inspector (PSI) from the Manki police station in Honnavar taluk of Uttara Kannada district has been arrested for sexually assaulting a minor girl. He has been arrested by the Bhatkal Police.
The incident occurred when the police were deployed to enforce law and order at Murinakatte after a communal disturbance. The PSI, Abhinandan Gowda, has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other applicable sections.
Gowda, who was the PSI at Manki, was deputed to Bhatkal on bandobast duty along with other officers where he allegedly forced the 16-year-old girl to accompany him and sexually assaulted her at a private hotel.
The girl, in her complaint filed on July 4, 2026, stated that the incident occurred on May 31. She said the officer, despite knowing that she was a minor, repeatedly contacted her on her mobile phone.
Cop took minor girl to party before assault
On May 31, PSI Abhinandan Gowda took the girl to a birthday party at a relative’s house in Honnavar from where he took her to the hotel and sexually abused her.
Coincidentally on that particular day, police personnel deployed to ensure the law and order situation at Murinakatte were staying at the same hotel. Following the complaint, the Bhatkal police checked the CCTV footage at the hotel, took the officer for questioning and later arrested him under POCSO.
Gowda, who hails from Kanakapura taluk in Ramanagara district, was transferred to Uttara Kannada recently and was made PSI (law and order). The Bhatkal town police are investigating the matter.