CCB officials recovered a total of ₹56 lakh from Halashri Swami after taking him into custody on Wednesday, September 20. The amount was kept in his mutt in Hirehadagali in Vijayanagara district.
The police report indicates that Swami had borrowed ₹1.5 crore from Govindababu Pujari, promising him a BJP ticket in return. He did return ₹50 lakh but absconded, leaving the rest unpaid. However, a recent development revealed that ₹56 lakh was found in Swami’s mutt.
Following his arrest, Swami was taken into custody for ten days for further investigation, having been apprehended by the CCB team near Cuttack while on a train journey.
Currently, both A1 Chaitra Kundapura and Swami are being questioned together to verify Chaitra’s earlier statement. She had mentioned Swami’s “high-level connections” and suggested that his arrest could expose significant players in the cheating case.
With Swami’s apprehension, all suspects linked to the cheating case have been arrested, prompting the police to delve deeper into potential connections in the ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, a group in Bengaluru, Samana Manaskaru, has urged the government to intensify the investigation and take action against those implicated in the fraud case. They voiced concerns about potential similarities to the Puneeth Kerehalli case involving a Hindutva activist who was subsequently released, emphasizing the need for a thorough government inquiry into the matter.
On a different note, the Karnataka Rashtra Samiti Party has lodged a complaint with the Enforcement Directorate, requesting an investigation into the financial transactions and illicit gains of both Chitra and Govinda Babu Poojary, the parties involved in the case.
In a separate development, environmentalist Saalumarada Thimmakka, who uses a wheelchair, staged a protest outside the city police commissioner’s office. She refuted rumors circulating in the media suggesting that the accused had utilized her car and government-provided office space to facilitate their deal, vehemently denying any involvement in the cheating case.