K’taka minister’s aide held for ‘cheating’ job aspirants

A close associate of Karnataka’s social welfare minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator, B Sriramulu, was arrested on Thursday night on charges that he cheated government job aspirants

A close associate of Karnataka’s social welfare minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator, B Sriramulu, was arrested on Thursday night on charges that he cheated government job aspirants.

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The accused, Rajanna, was picked up by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) and was arrested outside the residence of the minister, following a complaint by chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s son, BY Vijayendra on June 28.

People aware of the developments said that Vijayendra was forced to make the complaint as the accused was using the former’s name to extort money from government job aspirants.

“Yesterday evening Rajanna was detained for questioning. Team of one ACP Nagraj and 2 police inspectors Hazresh and Prashanth Babu have questioned him in detail. His voice sample has also been taken. It is being sent to FSL for matching with audio clippings available. Further investigation is being done. A notice has been served to him to appear before the Investigating Officer (IO) when summoned again,” Sandeep Patil, the Joint Commissioner of Police (CCB) said in a statement on Friday.

The arrest has fueled speculation of a growing rift within the Yediyurappa government and his cabinet, wherein Sriramulu claimed that he got to know about the developments only through media reports.

“I heard this news in the media and no one should misuse another’s name,” Sriramulu said on Friday. He added that once the investigation is complete, law will take its own course. The minister said that he would also speak to Vijayendra and the chief minister and added that Vijayendra did not share this information with the former and called it a “miscommunication”. He clarified that Rajanna was his acquaintance but denied that the latter worked in any capacity.

“The accused person misused (the) complainant’s name to get a job done by receiving illegal gratification. The complainant also stated that he does not know the said accused nor he has anything to do with him hence the complainant requested to take necessary action against all the persons concerned including the said accused,” stated the FIR lodged with the police by Vijayendra on June 28. Hindustan Times has seen a copy of this FIR. The case has been filed under Section 66 of the Karnataka Information Technology Act 2000 and Section 420 under the IPC.

The developments add to the already strained relations with the chief minister and senior ministers in his cabinet who have aired their discontent with the former’s son, who is accused of running a parallel administration under the aegis of his father.

“It has come to my knowledge that a person has misused my name on many occasions to cheat people and has received money by luring them with false promises. As soon as it came to my notice, I lodged a police complaint and requested to take appropriate action as per the law,” Vijayendra said in a post on Twitter on Friday.

“I request everyone to exercise caution and beware of such fraudulent people and immediately bring to my attention if you come across any such incidents of fraudsters trying to misuse my name by making false promises,” he added.

However, the clarification on Twitter still leaves several questions unanswered as to why the BJP’s vice president in Karnataka did not reach out to Sriramulu before filing the complaint.

Sriramulu is one of the more influential leaders within the government and is a close associate of former illegal iron-ore mining kingpin, Gali Janardhana Reddy.

The minister who hails from a community classified as scheduled caste, was also an aspirant for the post of deputy chief minister when the BJP seized power after Yediyurappa engineered the collapse of the HD Kumaraswamy-led Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress government.

In the last two months, at least four BJP legislators have levelled serious charges against Yediyurappa and his son including the “sex-for-job” scandal on Ramesh Jarkiholi, “bribe-for-bed scam” against Satish Reddy, allegations of taking cuts from private hospitals for vaccination against Ravi Subramanya and one (Arvind Bellad) who suspected that his phone was being tapped.

One legislator of the BJP said that Yediyurappa would get vindictive against anyone who has tried to criticise the government and even hinted that most of the allegations in recent times against his own partymen, have been at the behest of the chief minister.

Yediyurappa is on shaky ground as several legislators from his own party have rallied for his removal that has threatened the stability of the two-year old government, adding to the strained relations in BJP’s only government in southern India. The BJP is yet to act on ministers and other legislators of the party who have openly sought Yediyurappa’s removal and even accused him and his son of corruption. Basanagouda Patil (Yatnal) and AH Vishwanath have alleged that Yediyurappa and his son have indulged in wide-scale corruption, amounting to thousands of crores.

One legislator of the BJP said that Yediyurappa would get vindictive against anyone who has tried to criticise the government and even hinted that most of the allegations in recent times against his own partymen, have been at the behest of the chief minister.

Yediyurappa is on shaky ground as several legislators from his own party have rallied for his removal that has threatened the stability of the two-year old government, adding to the strained relations in BJP’s only government in southern India.

The BJP is yet to act on ministers and other legislators of the party who have openly sought Yediyurappa’s removal and even accused him and his son of corruption.

Basanagouda Patil (Yatnal) and AH Vishwanath have alleged that Yediyurappa and his son have indulged in wide-scale corruption, amounting to thousands of crores.