The Nandini Layout police have registered a case against a restaurateur for allegedly cheating about 50 persons from whom he had borrowed Rs 1.5 crore.
The accused, Nagaraju alias Tatte Idli Nagaraju (42), is from Harapanahalli in Davangere district, and resides at Mahalakshmi Layout.
According to the police, Nagaraju owns three hotels in Bidadi, Laggere and Mahalakshmi Layout. He took loans to purchase another building to expand his business by claiming a daily turnover of Rs. 20,000, which used to go up to around Rs. 40,000 on weekends.
According to the complaint, when lenders began demanding return of their money, Nagaraju allegedly threatened to get his wives — he is married to sisters Ambika and Jayanthi — to lodge complaints of molestation and misbehaviour against them.
Chandrashekar M.B., a businessman, claimed that the accused had taken a loan of Rs. 6 lakh from him. “When lenders went to his house to ask for return of their money, Nagaraju would never come out. Instead, his wives would confront the lenders. Nagaraju would later blackmail us. He would threaten to put us behind bars,” he said.
Lenders stage protest
The lenders got together and on Monday staged a protest in front of his restaurant at Mahalakshmi Layout. Later, they filed a complaint with the Nandini Layout police. “We have taken up a cheating case against Nagaraju,” the police said.
