Priest arrested for misusing Sudha's name to make money

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The city police probing a fraud case, has ar rested a 34-year-old priest for allegedly misusing the name of Sudha Murthy, wife of Infosy’s founder Narayana Murthy, to swindle money from a US-based event management company.

A complaint was filed by Mamata Sanjay, executive secretary of the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, at Jayanagar Police Station in Bengaluru, following which two women were arrested.

It was revealed that the women identified as Lavanya and Shruthi, were allegedly selling tickets for a programme in California claiming that Murthy will be the chief guest at an event organised by Kannada Koota of Northern California (KKNC).

Intensifying the probe, the police have now arrested the prime accused in the case who was behind the scam. The accused was identified by the police as Arun Kumar, a resident of Malleswaram in Bengaluru.

As per the police, Kumar, a saint during day and a conman at night, crafted his duplicitous ploy with painstaking precision. His first victims were a group eager to secure the presence of Sudha Murthy at an event in the United States.

Despite a clear refusal from Murthy herself, Kumar impersonated a woman claiming to be her personal assistant and confirmed her attendance, pocketing Rs 5 lakh as a result. Not content with his first fraudulent feat, Kumar embarked on another.

This time, he posed as a woman advertising a ‘Meet & Greet with Sudha Murthy’ event. With the promise of Murthy as the chief guest, he sold tickets and collected another Rs 5 lakh in advance payments. The charade, however, was short-lived.

Kumar’s relative, the husband of the woman he impersonated, brought the scam to light. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru South, Rahul Kumar Shahpurwad said that Kumar was revealed to be a relative of the complainant’s husband.

“He also said that the accused has admitted to have posed as the complainant while talking to event organisers and fraudulently collecting Rs 5 lakh as an advance payment. Further probe is on,” he added.