112-yr-old Thimmakka denies any link with ticket fraud case

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Noted environmentalist Saalumarada Thimmakka visited the office of the Police Commissioner B Dayananda here on Wednesday requesting the top cop to take legal action against several media houses which falsely reported her name in the BJP ticket fraud case involving Hindutva activist Chaitra Kundapur.

Following the arrest of Chaitra Kundapur by the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) police, several media houses had carried a report alleging that one of the accused in the case, Gagan Kadur, had travelled in a car which was provided to Saalumarada Thimmakka by the Karnataka government.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Thimmakka, 112, and her adopted son, Umesh, clarified that they have no connection with the accused Gagan Kadur or the other accused in the scam.

"I had attended Gagan Kadur's wedding as he is a member of Bharatiya Ayyappa Seva Samithi and I was the president of the Samithi. Other than this, we have no connection with him," said Thimmakka, who is also known as Aala Marada Thimmakka.

She is noted for her work in planting and tending to 385 banyan trees along a 45-kilometre stretch of highway between Hulikal and Kudur. Umesh asserted that strict action should be taken against the accused in the scam.

But media houses also should be careful and avoid carrying misleading reports, he said. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Venugopal has received the complaint on behalf of the Police Commissioner Dayananda.