Bengaluru: A businessman named Vijay Tata has filed a complaint at the Amritahalli Police Station against Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy and former Legislative Council member Ramesh Gowda, claiming they threatened him to pay Rs 50 crore. The police have now registered an FIR against them.
Initially, the police had filed a Non-Cognizable Report (NCR) against Kumaraswamy and Gowda, but after discussing it with their superiors, they decided to file an FIR. Ramesh Gowda is named as the first accused and Kumaraswamy as the second.
Vijay Tata, who lives in Dasarahalli and is a real estate businessman, has been part of the JDS party since 2018 and is currently the vice president of the party's social media department.
In his complaint, Tata stated that during the 2019 Mandya Lok Sabha Elections, he campaigned on social media for JDS candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy and spent a lot of his own money on it. On August 24, Ramesh Gowda visited his home and told him that Nikhil Kumaraswamy would be getting a ticket for the Channapatna by-election.
Gowda then called Kumaraswamy, who allegedly said, "This time we must win in the Channapatna by-election. You need to pay 50 crore rupees for election expenses." Tata responded that he couldn't afford that much money as he needed to focus on his real estate projects. Kumaraswamy reportedly became angry and threatened, saying, "If you don't arrange the 50 crores, it will be hard for you to continue your real estate business and live in Bengaluru."
Tata also mentioned that Ramesh Gowda, who was with him, insisted he prepare the 50 crores and added, "I am building a temple and a school, so you should give me 5 crores." Gowda warned that if Tata did not pay the money, he would face trouble.
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