A high-value financial fraud case has brought unwelcome attention to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) in Karnataka, with the son of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's close aide and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) being named among the accused.
An FIR has been registered by the Banashankari police in Bengaluru against Rajat Venkatesh, son of OSD Venkatesh, and two alleged business partners, Sneha Rakesh and Robin Francis. The case stems from a complaint filed by a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), Tejaswi Mariyappa, who alleges he was cheated out of ₹17.5 crore in a property transaction.
Allegations of Forged Signatures and Political Proximity
According to the police complaint, the accused trio approached the complainant with a proposal to purchase a building. To secure the deal and gain access to the property documents, they allegedly issued a cheque for the amount of ₹17.5 crore.
However, a major red flag was raised when the cheque was presented for encashment. The bank flagged the signature on the instrument as forged, leading to the transaction's failure and the cheque bouncing.
Crucially, the complainant further alleged that the accused built trust by leveraging their claimed proximity to influential political circles. It is claimed that they used photographs and references to high-level connections to lend credibility to their business dealings and defraud the NRI.
Investigation Underway
Police officials have confirmed that the FIR has been lodged under relevant sections pertaining to cheating and forgery. The investigation is currently in its initial stages.
"An FIR has been registered at the Banashankari police station against the three individuals named in the complaint," a police spokesperson confirmed. "The allegations, including the fraudulent use of a forged cheque, are being investigated. No arrests have been made as of now, and the role of each accused will be examined based on the evidence collected during the probe."
The case now puts the spotlight on the use of political connections to facilitate or lend credence to large-scale business deals, particularly those involving NRIs who may be less familiar with local procedures and political networks. The Chief Minister's Office has yet to issue a formal statement on the matter concerning the OSD's son.
