BELAGAVI: The woman’s cell phone linked to the sex-for-work complaint against former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi was last located in Delhi, according to a member of the Belagavi police team investigating her disappearance.
The team was formed on Wednesday after the woman’s father alleged she had been kidnapped.
The whereabouts of the woman have not been known since an alleged video of her surfaced earlier this month and Jarkiholi resigned his post as Minister of Water Resources following the complaint.
He denies any wrongdoing and claims that there is a conspiracy to damage his reputation. The state government formed an SIT to investigate various aspects of the case.
Belagavi Police Team is conducting separate investigations into the family kidnapping allegations.
According to the source, the woman’s phone was first located in Bengaluru and was last seen active in Delhi. There has been no activity since.
ACP Sadashiva Kattimani, who heads the Belagavi team, told TOI that he will not be traveling to Bengaluru because SIT agents are already carrying out a search there.
The team, which includes two inspector-level officers and eight police officers, will instead focus on northern Karnataka and attempt to identify people who may have taken the woman to Delhi.
Belagavi DCP (Law and Order) Vikram Amte told reporters that the kidnapping complaint would not be forwarded to SIT at this time.