from our special correspondent (MB)

Bangalore, Oct 26: A late-night brawl that is said to have taken place at Hotel Empire around 2-00 am on Thursday, October 26 appears to be attaining a political colour.

An altercation took place when some customers asked for food and the staff refused since it was already beyond the permitted working hours. Now reports say that Nikhil Gowda, son of chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, was among them. Two hotel stafff members have been injured in the melee and they have been hospitalized.

Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy

Bowring police station sources said under condition of anonymity said to this correspondent that Nikhil too had been beaten up by the hotel staff and that he has reportedly been admitted to a city hospital with an injured arm. But the chief minister's office is denying the incident.

Although a complaint has been filed with the Bowring police, it only mentions "some miscreants" and not Nikhil Gowda by name. Curiously enough, the news agencies in Bangalore have not yet published the news, whereas two major national TV channels NDTV and CNN-IBN have already flashed the news. The latter has published a picture of the hotel's shattered glass panes.

Empire Hotel sources also were tight-lipped over the matter. While they say an altercation did take place, they were not sure if CM's son Nikhil Gowda was indeed involved. However, this has also come as a handy tool for the opposition Congress, whose youth wing workers staged a demonstration in front of the hotel.

The media community here recalls an interview given to a major newspaper by Kumaraswamy soon after taking over as CM earlier this year, wherein he had spoken of his worries about his son Nikhil's academic performance. Well-informed sources say that Nikhil was a second-year dropout from the Mahaveer Jain College in the city. He was reportedly refused admission at the beginning of the current academic year for want of attendance, but later he somehow managed to get into the college.

This episode is likely to take fresh twists in the backdrop of the slight souring of relationship between the two coalition partners - JDS and BJP - in the incumbent government during the past few days. It was only on Wednesday that Kumaraswamy had fumed at the BJP for objecting to the way the Rajyotsava awards were given.

A BJP leader told this correspondent that if this can be an ideal opportunity to embarrass the CM, esp. when appointment of the chairpersons to various corporations and boards is overdue, he would like to make the best use of it to bargain for highest benefits. Some disgruntled elements in the BJP are likely to stoke the flames from behind the scenes.

A Congress worker said that the way everybody is denying the involvement in spite of there being so many eyewitnesses only leads to suspicions that suitable 'deals' and 'adjustments' have been made to hush up the matter.

PTI adds:

CM's Son Lodges Police Complaint

Bangalore:: Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy's teenage son has lodged a complaint with police, alleging he was assaulted by the staff of a hotel here on Thursday, a senior police official said.

Nikhil, a college student, said in his complaint with the Cubbon Park police that the staff of Empire Hotel beat him up following an altercation over their refusal to serve food to him and two others, Bangalore Joint Commissioner of Police Bipin Gopalkrishna said.

The hotel, he said, has also lodged a complaint stating that three "unidentified persons" came there and ransacked it after the staff refused to serve them food in the early hours today.

Nikhil has also alleged that his car was damaged in the incident.

"Both the complaints are being investigated," Gopalkrishna said.

A hotel official told PTI that they had not named anyone in their complaint.

Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital Medical Superintendent Rajiv Shetty said three persons, including one by name Nikhil, took treatment as outpatients in the hospital but he was not sure if it was the Chief Minister's son.

"The three came with the history of assault," Shetty adding the injuries were "minor in nature."