BJP leader among five booked for Rs 7 crore mining business scam in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: A BJP leader was among five people booked by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru police for allegedly conning a businessman from Tumakuru of around Rs 7 crore by offering him a partnership in a mining business.

Anil Kumar R, who unsuccessfully contested the state elections on a BJP ticket in 2023, Srinivas Reddy K R, Indira D R, Basavaraju and Shashi were the suspects. According to the FIR filed on October 12, Reddy and Indira were partners in V2A Iron Mining LLP in HSR Layout in Bengaluru.

The complainant, G Srinivasa Mithra, alleged he was approached by Basavaraju and Shashi from his neighbouring village in March 2023 who then took him to a penthouse apartment in Sanjay Nagar where he met Reddy, Indira and Kumar.

Mithra, 35, told the police that Reddy and Indira were looking for a partner to invest in return for a 25 per cent share of the business for a Rs 10 crore investment, along with an annual interest of 18 per cent on the investment.

Mithra was allegedly told that the duo had 98 per cent ownership over a mine on a lease land (84,893 hectares) in Holakere taluk in Chitradurga.

Since Mithra did not know the mining business, he agreed only to be an investor. He was approached again in April 2023 and was explained the plans for business expansion.

Convinced, on several occasions till September 2023, Mithra wired the suspects Rs 6.40 crore and handed over Rs 60 lakh in cash to Kumar.

Once when Mithra demanded to see the land, he was told that campaigning was underway for Kumar for the 2023 Karnataka Assembly Elections, which he later lost.

On May 5, 2023, Mithra claimed that he signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and was issued security cheques. Kumar allegedly refused to sign stating that the LLP was represented through Indira and Reddy and assured him of their trustworthiness.

When asked for further payments, Mithra said he would only do so after receiving all the documents and the mining lease. Mithra subsequently received the lease number (ML1822) but was allegedly told the other documents would be sent only after completing the rest of the payment.

It was then Mithra visited the Department of Mines and Geology and found the land was under litigation and mining was stopped. Mithra claimed that Kumar threatened him that he would “show his political power and file an atrocity case”.

A senior officer said that they had begun the investigation. “We have also learnt that Kumar has several past criminal cases.”