Bengaluru(Karnataka): Popular Kannada actress and producer Radhika Kumaraswamy on Wednesday denied the allegation that she received Rs 1.25 crore from S. Yuvaraj Swamy Yadav Yuvraj Alias Swamy. Instead claimed that she had received Rs 15 lakh from him and Rs 60 lakh from a producer, that too as an advance for a film in which she was to act.
Addressing the press in Bengalauru, Radhika told reporters that her family knew Swamy Yadav for the last 17 years and knew him as an "astrologer" through her father.
"He had predicted that I would be the mother of a girl child when I was 16 years old, subsequently he also predicted my father's death which also came true. Similarly, there were many incidents that he predicted about our family that turned out to be true. Therefore, our relationship got stronger over a period of 17 years. I was also shocked to hear that he was arrested. Prior to his arrest, he predicted that I would be in trouble till February of this year and what an ironic prediction it turned out to be. I came in trouble only because of him," she explained.
"He (Swamy Yadav) had discussed with me that he would be producing a movie - Natyarani Shantala (Dancing queen Shantala) - and credited Rs 15 lakh in my account as an advance. Subsequently, another producer of this movie, credited Rs 60 lakh into my account in March 2020. When asked about who was producing the movie, he just stated that his brother-in-law is also partnering with him to produce the movie," she added'.
It is worth noting here, that the Bengaluru police arrested Swamy Yadav, 55, posing as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary for allegedly cheating government job aspirants by convincing them of his "strong political connections" on December 17.
Since last week, reports started appearing in a section of the media alleging that Radhika too was involved in this scam as she had received Rs 1.25 crore from him.
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To give credence to these reports, the police summoned Radhika's elder brother Raviraj and questioned him for more than an hour regarding his connections with Swamy Yadav.
In her attempt to distance herself from the controversy, she said that her family had been duped on several occasions and despite this, her family had never tried to defraud anyone. "On numerous counts, we have been defrauded but our family has remained united," she said and quickly asserted that the family was ready to face any consequence.
In response to a question, Radhika said that she was not the only person who fell for his ploys but several top ranking VIPs too have fallen for his dubious personality. "How can I know that person who predicted several good things about our family, could do such a thing. I was not aware of any of his deeds. Our connections with him were limited to astrology and films not beyond that," she said and added quickly that Swamy Yadav was not her relative.
She added that their conversations never went beyond films and fixing muhruts (auspicious time) to start any good work. "Almost every day he used to change his Whatsapp DP, in which either he was seen giving a bouquet or being felicitated by some VIP. So, I never suspected him or his intentions at all," she explained.