K’taka cash-for-ticket scam: Notice issued for another seer to appear for questioning

Bengaluru, Oct 10 : The Special Wing of the Central City Crime Branch (CCB) probing the sensational cash-for-ticket scam has issued a notice to a known Hindutva seer to appear before the authorities for questioning, police said on Tuesday.

The police have arrested Chaitra Kundapura, a Hindutva activist and prominent seer Abhinava Halasri and six others in connection with the case.

Industrialist and BJP leader Govind Babu Poojari had lodged a complaint that the accused had taken Rs 5 crore on the promise of a BJP ticket and cheated him.

Now, a notice has been issued to Rajashekarananda Swamiji of Vajradehi Mutt in Gurupura of Mangaluru city in Dakshina Kannada.

The seer is a prominent Hindutva face and regularly appears on television programmes in Karnataka.He is known as Vajradehi Swamiji.

The seer had been asked to appear before the CCB officers and he is likely to go for the questioning shortly.The prime accused Chaitra Kundapura, who is in judicial custody had brought Vajradehi Swamiji’s name into the scandal.

However, the seer had earlier refused that he had any connection with the scandal when it surfaced.

The seer had penned a short introduction to a book written by Chaitra Kundapura.

She had written a letter to the ED before her arrest making allegations against Poojari.

Sources stated that she had written the letter after he pressurised her to return his money.

In the letter, she had mentioned the name of Vajradehi Swamiji.

Kundapura had stated while in custody that big fish were involved in the BJP cash-for-ticket scandal.

mka/rad