Former history-sheeter V Nagaraj alias Bomb Naga, who went absconding after the police raided and seized Rs 30 crore in demonetized notes from his house and office last week, has sought anticipatory bail.
On Wednesday, Bomb Naga, who is also a former BBMP corporator, approached the court through his counsel seeking anticipatory bail, following which the police said that they will file an objection after going through his bail plea.
According to a senior police official, Bomb Naga’s bail plea stated that he was not aware of the demonetised currency notes that were found in his home and office premises.
“In his plea, he has denied any involvement in anti-social activities. He also said that he has enough wealth that he has earned through hard work. We suspect that he and his two sons are hiding in Tamil Nadu,” the official told The News Minute.
Bomb Naga said that he has a good public reputation because of his charitable works and claims that the police are trying to malign his image based on a complaint filed by Umesh who was involved in a currency-exchange scam.
“The plea states that Umesh and another man Praveen Kumar, the son-in-law of MLC Veeranna Matthikatti, were among 14 people arrested by the Central Crime Branch in Bengaluru in a currency exchange-racket worth Rs 9.1 crore on April 7,” the senior officer stated.
Bomb Naga also said that the CCB had busted Umesh and Praveen Kumar way before they raided his house and that Umesh was just trying to target him.
“We will request the court to not grant bail to Bomb Naga and will file objections as we are planning to book him under Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act. There is also a lot of political pressure on his end,” the officer added.
Bomb Naga's wife Lakshmi, however, said that she was clueless about how such a huge sum of money was hdden in their home.
"There was always money kept in the house for charities but I don't know how so much money was hidden. I met my husband two days after the raid, which is on Aapril 16 at the lawyer, Srirama Reddy's office. I also met my sons. My husband had also come home after that," Lakshmi said.
Earlier, on April 14, the Hennur Police had raided the home and office of Bomb Naga and had found demonetised currency worth Rs 30 crore hidden there.
According to Hennur police inspector Srinivas, a man named Umesh had filed a complaint that Bomb Naga had cheated him in a money exchange racket.
“Umesh said that Naga had even abducted him and threatened him with dire consequences if he asked about the money,” Inspector Srinivas said.
Bomb Naga is wanted in over 45 cases of attempted murder, extortion, kidnapping and money laundering in Srirampura police station. He managed to escape before the police arrived and is currently absconding.