A man was arrested on Saturday on the charge of trying to blackmail B.Y. Raghavendra, MLA, Shikaripur.
The arrested is Murali Mulawade, a taxi driver, from Vidya Nagar locality in Dharwad city.
According to the police, the arrested had called the office of Mr. Raghavendra and had told the staff there that he had CDs containing video footage of the MLA and his father B.S. Yeddyurappa, president, BJP State unit’s, personal life. The arrested had demanded money threatening he would hand the CDs over to Mr. Yeddyurappa’s political opponents.
Basavalingaiah Mathad, Mr. Raghavendra’s personal assistant, had lodged a complaint with the police in this connection. By tracking the telephone calls, the police arrested Mr. Mulawade.
The Shikaripur police have booked cases under Sections 384 (extortion) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code against him.