CCB books three for blackmailing Shadakshara Mutt seer

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) officials on Wednesday registered an FIR against three people who, claiming to be the chairperson of the State Information Commission and the sister of the Lokayukta, allegedly blackmailed the seer of Shadakshara Mutt with a fabricated video demanding a ransom of ₹6 crore.

Based on the complaint by Rudramani Swami, the police charged the accused Vidya Biradar Patil, Pallavi D.B. and Surya Narayana, for extortion, impersonation, creating false documents and criminal intimidation along with various sections of the IT Act.

In his complaint, Mr. Swami said that he had received a call from Patil on August 31 claiming to be the chairperson of the State Information Commission and the sister of the Lokayukta and alleging that there was a complaint against him and asked him to appear for questioning.

Patil had told him that the complaint was filed by Pallavi and Surya Narayana and submitted video evidence against the seer. She called the seer repeatedly to meet her, following which the seer sent his legal advisor Dhananjaya, who met Patil near a hotel in Gandhinagar. Patil showed him a video related to the seer and allegedly demanded ₹6 crore to drop the charges and not to pursue the case. She also demanded an advance amount of ₹50 lakh, failing which she threatened to upload the video on social media.

The seer approached the police and filed a complaint. The police are now trying to track down the accused.

Published - September 26, 2024 09:47 pm IST