The Central Crime Branch (CCB) on Thursday arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly cheating people to the tune of crores of rupees with the promise of a government job. Shivakumar Hosalli, a native of Haveri district, allegedly duped people looking for jobs in various government departments by stating that he was a close associate of Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, CCB sleuths said.
On July 1, Ramesh, a resident of Bengaluru’s Kumaraswamy Layout filed a complaint against Shivakumar Hosalli at the Ashok Nagar Police Station. In his complaint, Ramesh stated that back in 2016 Shivakumar had promised his relative Jnanashekar that he would get him a job as a clerk at Vidhana Soudha. In November 2016, Ramesh said he paid Shivakumar Rs 3 lakh for procuring the job for Jnanashekar. For over three years, Shivakumar allegedly kept evading Jnanashekar and Ramesh’s follow-up regarding the job, stating that Jnanashekar would be sure to get the post he wanted. However, over the last few months, Shivakumar allegedly began avoiding Ramesh and Jnanashekar’s calls.
“Shivakumar came to Bengaluru nine years ago and was working as a painter. He later started working at various bars in the city and became the manager of Narthaki Bar and Restaurant located near Residency Road. He met Jnanashekar at the bar in 2016, when he promised him the job in return for money. Jnanashekar had heard through word of mouth that Shivakumar had a good network and would be able to help him,” said Sandeep Patil, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime).
The Joint Commissioner further said that over the course of time, Shivakumar had earned a reputation, albeit a false one, of having connections with top politicians. “After the complaint was filed, we arrested Shivakumar, and now realise that he has duped people to the tune of many crores. He also conned people who had pending bills from the government stating that he could help them procure the outstanding amount for a fee, by claiming to know the Chief Minister personally. So far, we have identified a few cases but we have been receiving more complaints from people that he had duped them too,” Sandeep Patil added.
CCB sleuths said that Shivakumar would frequently go to Vidhana Soudha and scout for people who were looking for jobs. He would allegedly introduce himself to them and claim that he was close to MLAs from Haveri and to the Chief Minister. “The victims didn’t suspect him as he would appear to be walking out from a meeting,” a senior police officer added.
Shivakumar was remanded to judicial custody and booked under sections 420 (punishment for cheating), 170 (impersonating a public servant) and 415 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.