Pralhad Joshi.
Credit: PTI Photo
Union minister and senior BJP leader Pralhad Joshi’s brother, sister and nephew have been booked by the Bengaluru police in a cheating case.
According to the FIR filed by Basaveshwara Nagar police on October 17, the suspects allegedly offered a ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and used casteist slurs. The FIR names Pralhad Joshi’s brother Gopal Joshi (A1), his sister Vijayalakshmi Joshi (A2), and Gopal’s son Ajay Joshi (A3).
Police have invoked BNS sections related to cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy, along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The FIR is based on a complaint filed by Sunita Chauhan, 48, the wife of former JD(S) MLA from Nagathana, Devanand Phool Singh Chauhan.
As per the FIR, Shekhar Nayak, an acquaintance of the Chouhans, introduced them to Gopal with the promise of a Lok Sabha seat.
The BJP and the JD(S) fought the Lok Sabha elections as allies in Karnataka, winning 19 of the 28 seats.
Sunitha told the police that Nayak took them to Gopal’s house in Hubballi in March 2024. After meeting Gopal, they visited Pralhad Joshi’s office. There, Gopal allegedly claimed that Pralhad had significant influence with central leaders and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minsiter Amit Shah "listened to him". Gopal reportedly asked them to keep Rs 5 crore ready for the seat.
However, the couple rejected the offer and left. Gopal called Chauhan again only to hear his rejection. He later called Sunita to convince her again, asking her not miss the opportunity and arrange Rs 25 lakh in the meantime. Nayak asserted the same in a subsequent conversation with Sunitha, the FIR states.
Sunita said she sought time and borrowed Rs 25 lakh from friends and family. She later visited Vijayalakshmi’s house in northern Bengaluru's Basaveshwara Nagar, and at Gopal’s behest, handed the money to Vijayalakshmi, the FIR notes.
Gopal later arrived and reportedly called Amit Shah’s secretary in Sunita’s presence, assuring her that everything was in order. He also took a cheque for Rs 5 crore as security, the FIR states.
Despite this, Sunita claimed they did not receive the party ticket. When she and her husband confronted Gopal, he arranged a meeting at Vijayalakshmi’s house. Gopal returned the cheque but said he couldn't return Rs 25 lakh because a Rs 200-crore project bill was pending with the government.
He then allegedly asked Sunita to arrange another Rs 1.75 crore, promising to return the money within 20 days after showing project-related documents. Sunita wired the amount to Vijayalakshmi’s account, at Gopal’s behest and gave Gopal another Rs 50 lakh in cash the same day, the FIR notes.
However, Gopal didn’t return the money even after a month and only gave false assurances. The FIR also notes that Gopal's son Ajay acted as surety and promised that they wouldn’t be cheated.
On August 1, when Sunita visited Vijayalakshmi’s house, she was allegedly assaulted and subjected to casteist slurs. Sunita also told the police that some goons threatened her and her son.
Gopal, an employee of Canara Bank, was previously booked along with several others for causing a loss of Rs 1.38 crore to the public-sector lender. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) gave him a clean chit in November 2014.