Karnataka BJP ticket-cheating case: Valuables worth Rs 2 crore seized from Hindutva activist Chaitra Kundapura

Dayananda said, “We have seized valuables worth Rs 2 crore from Chaitra Kundapura, Rs 56 lakh cash from G M Abhinava Halaveerappajja, the chief pontiff of the Halashri Mutt in Vijayanagara, and Rs 20 lakh from another accused.”

He said several people have been summoned for questioning and the probe is underway. The police Thursday took Halaveerappajja to Halashri mutt for further probe.

A police officer said, “She (Chaitra Kundapura) has kept Rs 65 lakh worth gold ornaments and Rs 40 lakh deposit in a co-operative bank in Udupi district. Besides that, Rs 1.08 crore worth of property has also been found. The deposits in the bank were made in the name of Srikanth who is also arrested in the case. They had bought agricultural land and she was building a house in Kundapura. Srikanth was also building a house in Karkala with the money that he got after cheating Poojary.”

Meanwhile, a person named Pranav Prasad of Mysuru, a disciple of Halaveerappajja, wrote a letter to the Bengaluru city police informing them that an aide of the seer handed over a substantial amount of money to him for ‘safekeeping’.

A police official said, “Pranav in the letter mentioned that the seer’s driver Raju came to his office and handed over a bag which had Rs 60 lakh. The driver took away Rs 4 lakh claiming that he had to pay a fee to a lawyer.”

Pranav Prasad told media persons that despite informing the police, none came to take the money and he then went to the mutt and left the cash inside the premises. The CCB police seized the money from the mutt.