Three days after former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi filed a complaint alleging that the sleaze CD involving him is fake, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) police recorded his statement on Monday night.
According to sources, the team of SIT officials headed by assistant commissioner of police, CCB, H N Dharmendra recorded a four-page statement.
Ramesh reportedly said that he knew about the CD four months ago and he was blackmailed for money. The gang had allegedly demanded a big amount of money from him. Since he refused to pay, they released the CD.
The officers spent more than two hours at Ramesh's house in Sadashivanagar to record his statement.
Sources said that Jarkiholi told SIT that four months ago, a few persons hatched a conspiracy against him.
He got to know about it through former MLA M V Nagaraju, as the suspects had informed him about leaking the video on social media and news channels.
"They repeatedly met Nagaraju and placed a demand for money," Jarkiholi told the SIT and said that since he had not committed any mistake, he refused to pay them.
He added that he knew about the release of the CD a day in advance.
There are many people involved in it and they didn't like him becoming a minister, Jarkiholi said.
Jarkiholi said the conspiracy was hatched against him in two places, in and around Yeshwantpur. The people behind the conspiracy have spent more than Rs 20 crore and they have even paid the woman in the CD, the former minister told the SIT.