BJP MLA ticket scam: ED probe requested

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: In yet another development to the multi-crore cheating case involving Hindutva activist Chaitra Kundapur, the Karnataka Rashtra Samithi (KRS) party has lodged a formal complaint with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and has urged the state government to intensify the investigation and take action against those implicated in the fraud case.

The KRS has also requested an investigation into the financial transactions and illicit gains of both Chaitra and Govinda Babu Poojary, the parties involved in the case.

Another group in Bengaluru, Samana Manaska voiced concerns about potential links to the Puneeth Kerehalli case involving a Hindutva activist who was subsequently released, emphasizing the need for a thorough government inquiry into the matter.

Meanwhile, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police are continuing questioning of seer Abhinava Halasri. According to sources, Halasri has admitted that he had taken Rs 1.5 crore from the complainant, Govinda Babu Poojary, with the promise of getting him an Assembly ticket from BJP.

He also said that he had returned Rs 50 lakh and that the rest of the cash was in his ashram at Hirehadagali in Hoovinahadagali taluk of Haveri district.

The police, who conducted an inspection of the Sadguru Shivayogi Halaswamy Ashram, have recovered Rs 56 lakh from there. Abhinava Halasri had revealed to the police that he had kept the cash in the ‘adda pallaki.’

The police have issued notices to several of Halasri's associates to appear before them for questioning.