BANGALORE: Arrested on Friday on a complaint filed by a women's rights activist on July 29, a Kannada daily columnist V R Bhat is likely to be booked under the Goonda Act for allegedly provoking men to rape a social activist through his recent Facebook post . Additional commissioner of police Alok Kumar said Bhat will be slapped with the Goonda Act saying his threat "amounts to cyber terrorism and inciting people to rape a woman."

In her complaint to Chandra Layout police, the activist N Prabha, a resident of Chandra Layout I stage in west Bangalore, stated that as a state secretary of Bharath Gyan Vigyan Samiti, she has been at the forefront of wiping out superstition and building scientific temperament among people. On Sunday afternoon, she had posted her comments on Facebook about the need for scientific approach against superstitious practices.

But Bhat reacted to the post in a derogatory manner, stating that people like her should be caught by their hair, their faces burnt and raped.

She stated that several women's activists reacted against Bhat's objectionable outpourings. She told the police that when she and her fellow activists were protesting against the growing rape incidents, Bhat's reaction showed his perversion. She alleged that even a threat of rape is a crime against women and requested the police to file a case against Bhat.

Following strong reaction to his post, Bhat later apologized on Prabha's Facebook account but the cops registered a case under section 66(a)(objectionable comments) of IT Act, besides sections 504 (intentional insult to create breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), 109 (abetment) and 354 (A) of IPC. Police said the provisions under IT Act will attract immediate arrest of an offender. A similar case was also registered against him in Basavanagudi police station making him a repeat offender, police claimed.