Karnataka: V Nagaraj swindled realtor of Rs 95 Lakhs

Former corporator and rowdy V. Nagaraj, who is in police custody, has a fresh case of extortion filed against him by a realtor on Saturday. The realtor, B.K. Shivanand, a resident of Hebbal, has filed the complaint with the Srirampura police that Nagaraj had assured him that his Rs 95 lakh in demonetised currency would be converted into valid notes. On December 15 last year, Shivanand he went to Nagaraj’s house in Srirampura with the cash.

The deal was struck after a few hours of negotiation and Naga assured him that the money would be converted for a commission.“When I asked Nagaraj for the new currency notes, he told me that the conversion would take time and asked me to hand over the old notes and wait for a few days. When I told him that I wanted the new currency notes on the spot, he threatened me at gunpoint and took all the money,” Shivanand said in the complaint.

So far, four cases of illegal money conversion have been registered against Nagaraj, besides cases for possessing lethal weapons and other previous 45 criminal cases.

Nagaraj acting funny in police custody
Nagaraj, who had created a stir by releasing two videos making serious allegations against MP P.C. Mohan and top police officers, continued to behave strangely in police custody. Police sources said that he acted as if he had lost his memory and kept asking the officers, “Who I am I? Where am I?” He has also told the police that he would like to contest in the 2018 assembly elections which was his dream.

Police search for Naga’s wife Lakshmi?
Nagaraj has reportedly told his interrogators that the money he extorted from businessmen is with his wife Lakshmi. The police have now launched a manhunt for her. Lakshmi, who is absconding since Naga’s arrest, is learnt to have fled to Dharmasthala. Her mobile phone has remained switched off for the last four days and the last time it was active was in Dharmasthala, the police said.