Yuvraj Swamy, who allegedly claimed to have ties with central political leaders and a powerful right-wing organisation, also reportedly conned a retired Karnataka High Court judge of ₹8.8 crore by promising to get her appointed as Governor. Yuvraj has been accused of duping many people in such a manner and taking money with assurances that he would get them plum postings and seats on government boards.
The retired judge, B.S. Indrakala, a resident of Wilson Garden, deposed before the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police in December, accusing a retired Superintendent of Police (SP) of mediating their meeting and introducing her to Yuvraj. The retired judge approached the Wilson Garden police and filed a cheating case on December 21. The case was subsequently transferred to the CCB.
In her deposition before the CCB, Ms. Indrakala alleged that her friend Papaiah, the retired SP, brought Yuvraj to her house in 2018. “In her statement, she said the SP introduced him as a person who was powerful in the BJP and the RSS with ties to the high command,” said a senior CCB official.
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Yuvraj claimed that he was well-versed in astrology and predicted that she had a bright future. He reportedly mentioned that the government was looking for a woman with the right background for a posting, and offered to recommend her name. According to Ms. Indrakala, Papaiah urged her to seize the opportunity.
“She said when she confirmed that she wanted to try for the post, Yuvrajadvised her to pay some money to contribute to the party fund,” the CCB official added. To do this, she told the police, she sold a site she owned and took a loan to transfer ₹95 lakh to Yuvraj’s account. She also later paid huge sums of money — ₹3.77 crore and ₹4.5 crore on different occasions.
The posting, however, failed to materialise. Despite repeated attempts she failed to get a response. On December 16, the police arrested Yuvraj in another case based on a complaint filed by a businessman from Bengaluru, whom he had allegedly promised a post in the Transport Department for ₹1 crore.
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During a search of his house in Nagarbhavi, the police seized ₹26 lakh in cash and cheques addressed to the accused amounting to ₹91 crore. Further investigations revealed that he had financial transactions with actor and producer Radhika and her brother Raviraj who were summoned by the CCB for questioning.
With politicians
As the scam came to light, photographs of the accused with a few BJP leaders and Ministers started doing the rounds on social media. Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said on Saturday that he would not comment on the case as it was under investigation. “Concerned authorities will take appropriate action at the appropriate time. Posing for a photograph with someone does not amount to a crime,” he said.
The police are also probing Papaiah’s role.