MLA ticket cheating case: CCB officials recover ₹56 lakh from mutt of Halashri Swami

According to the police, out of the ₹1.5 crore he had taken from Govindababu Pujari, on the promise of getting him a BJP ticket, the swami had returned ₹50 lakh and promised to return the rest later, but had fled

According to the police, the accused had taken ₹1.5 crore from the complainant after promising to get him a BJP ticket for the Assembly elections in Karnataka. | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL

A day after his arrest, the CCB officials took Halashri Swami into custody and recovered a total of ₹56 lakh which he had kept in his mutt in Hirehadagali in Vijayanagara district on Wednesday, September 20.

According to the police, out of the ₹1.5 crore he had taken from Govindababu Pujari, on the promise of getting him a BJP ticket, Swami had returned ₹50 lakh and promised to return the rest later, but had fled. The CCB team with the help of local police recovered a part of the money, while efforts are on to track down the rest, a senior police officer said.

Swami, who was tracked down by CCB team near Cuttack on a train, was brought back to city and taken into 10-day police custody for further investigations.

The police are now questioning both A1 Chaitra Kundapura and Swami together to corroborate the statement she had given before. Chaitra had told the CCB officials that Swami had “high links” and his arrest will reveal many “big names” in the cheating case.

With the arrest of Swami, the CCB have arrested all the accused involved in the cheating case and the police are further investigating to ascertain whether there are more links to the cheating case.

Probe thoroughly

Meanwhile, Samana Manaskaru, Bengaluru, held a meeting and urged the government to intensify the probe and take action against those involved in the cheating.

Harish, one of the organisers talking to The Hindu said, “We suspect that this case may also end up like Hindutva activist Puneeth Kerehalli case, who is now let off. We demand that the government conduct a proper probe.” He said many names of Hindutva leaders have cropped up in the case and the police should probe them.

On the other hand, Karnataka Rashtra Samiti Party has filed a complaint with Enforcement Directorate to probe financial transactions and ill-gotten wealth of accused Chitra as well as Govinda Babu Poojary.

Thimmakka’s protest

In another development, wheel chair-bound environmentalist Saalumarada Thimmakka staged a protest in front of city police commissioner officer against dragging her name in the cheating case.

Ms. Thimmakka said that a rumour has been spread by a section of the media that the accused had used her car and other facilities including the office space provided by the government to clinch a deal.