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Bengaluru cheating case: Hospital deems Hindu activist medically fit
Kundapur and six other suspects were arrested on September 12 by the CCB police based on a complaint by Govind Babu Pujari (44), a businessman, at the Bandepalya police station in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: The Hindu-right wing activist, Chaitra Kundapur, was declared medically fit by hospital authorities, a day after she was admitted to the hospital after she collapsed during interrogation. She was arrested by the police September 12 on charges of cheating a businessman out of ₹5 crore by promising him a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket to contest the assembly elections in May.
Officials of Victoria Hospital, where she was admitted, stated that her condition was stable. “Chaitra Kundapur had seizures earlier but was not on medication. Vitals are stable, ABG, RBS, and ECG are normal. A CT scan was performed, which showed normal results. Currently, her clinical condition is stable,” a statement from Victoria Hospital said.
On September 15 morning, Kundapur was brought to the Central Crime Branch office from a women’s rehabilitation centre for interrogation. After an hour of interrogation, Kundapur collapsed with froth allegedly oozing out of her mouth and was rushed to Victoria Hospital in the city.
A senior CCB officer said that even though the hospital has declared her medically fit and even suggested her collapse could be orchestrated, the investigators are yet to take her into custody. “We will await further instructions from the medical officials and take her back for questioning in due course. Currently, we are focusing on other aspects of the investigation,” said the officer.
Another officer, part of the ongoing investigation, said that the CCB conducted inspections at various places in Udupi on Saturday. The searches were conducted to identify land bought by the gang using the money gained from the fraud. “We also have information that they have kept money in various societies. We conducted these searches as part of that,” added the officer.
Kundapur and six other suspects were arrested on September 12 by the CCB police based on a complaint by Govind Babu Pujari (44), a businessman, at the Bandepalya police station in Bengaluru. Pujari had filed a complaint on September 8 against eight people, including Kundapur, accusing them of extorting money from him by promising a BJP MLA ticket.
On Saturday, he submitted an evidence pen drive to the CCB police in connection with his allegations. The pen drive allegedly contains his phone conversations with the accused. Pujari reportedly recorded his conversations with the accused after he found them suspicious, said CCB officials, who added that the police are going through the evidence submitted.
Another accused in the case, Channa Naik, who was arrested on September 14 evening, was remanded to CCB custody until September 23 by the court. The police have arrested six accused in the case so far. The accused, Seer Abhinava Halashree of Halaswamy Mutt, has been absconding since Chaitra’s arrest.
On Saturday, a court in Bengaluru adjourned the anticipatory bail application by the seer. The lawyer for the seer had applied for bail at the 57th CCH court in the city on September 15. The bail hearing has been adjourned to September 19, said the police.
Former BJP national general secretary CT Ravi addressed reporters in Mangaluru on Saturday, saying that the truth behind the MLA ticket cheating case involving Hindutva activist Chaitra Kundapura should be unraveled through a comprehensive investigation. Ravi emphasized that the police should conduct a transparent probe to uncover the truth, asserting that there is no system in the BJP for providing party tickets in elections in exchange for money. He said, “There are people who get fooled, and there are people who fool them.”
Home Minister G Parameshwara stated that the police are actively investigating the case and will provide all the details once the investigation is concluded. He also commented on the recent events, saying, “As you have seen a lot of drama (Kundapura’s hospitalisation), the police have handled it well. All the details will be provided once the investigation is over.”
