Pralhad Joshi's brother, sister booked; Congress demands dismissal

The Bengaluru police have filed an FIR against Union Minister Pralhad Joshi's brother and sister based on a complaint of cheating lodged by a former JD(S) MLA's wife.

His brother Gopal Joshi and sister Vijayalakshmi were booked by Basaweshwaranagar police. Gopal's son Ajay Joshi has also been named in the FIR, police sources said on Friday.

The complaint was filed by Sunita Chavan, wife of former Nagthana MLA Devavand Phool Singh Chavan, who lost the 2023 Assembly election.

She alleged that Gopal promised her to get a ticket to contest the May Lok Sabha elections when she approached him at his Hubballi residence in north Karnataka in March and later delivered Rs 25 lakh at Vijayalakshmi's house at Basaveshwaranagar here on his instruction.

When she did not get a ticket, Sunita alleged, she again approached Gopal, who told her that he was about to get a Rs 200 crore project and he would return her amount. He asked her to pay him Rs 1.75 crore, which she did, the complainant alleged.

Gopal thereafter failed to honour his promise to return the money in 20 days, the complainant alleged, adding, she visited Vijayalakshmi's residence but to no avail.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda told reporters here: "It appears Rs 2 crore was given in various instalments, which is also under investigation".

Following an FIR against Union Minister Pralhad Joshi's kin, Congress workers on Friday staged a protest in Bengaluru's Gandhi Bhavan. The Congress workers have demanded the dismissal of Union Minister Joshi from the Union Cabinet and the arrest of his booked family members.

"The demand is that Pralhad Joshi must resign. FIR has been launched stating that his family members asked for 2 crores in return for a ticket. BJP always speaks about Siddarmaiah, Congress. The FIR has clearly mentioned the names of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. What message are they giving to the country? They have been vocal about Siddarmaiah and Congress. Why their mouths have been zipped now?" said Congress protestors.

Speaking on the same, Karnataka Home Minister G Parmeshwara said, "Some of the accused have been arrested and they are looking for Gopal Joshi. Once he is arrested, we will know more about him... Gopal Joshi is absconding at the moment... Once the investigation is completed, then we will know who is involved."