‘Absconding’ Karnataka Seer Nabbed From Odisha In Cash-For-Ticket Scam

Bhubaneswar: A special wing of Karnataka City Central Crime Branch (CCB) has arrested a seer, who allegedly cheated a businessman by promising a BJP ticket to contest from Byndoor Assembly constituency, from Odisha.

Abhinava Halaswamy, the seer of Shri Halaswami Mahasamsthana Mutt in Hirehadagali near Hosapete, was nabbed aboard a Varanasi-bound train in Bhubaneswar on Monday night. He had been on the run and changing places since the arrest of right-wing activist Chaitra Kundapura, the prime accused in the scam, on September 12 in connection with a complaint filed by industrialist Govind Babu Pujari on September 8, reports said.

The CCB got to know his whereabouts after questioning his car driver. To avoid easy identification, he wore a T-shirt and shorts and not the usual ‘khavi’ (saffron) dress. He travelled to Mysuru, Hyderabad, Farooqabad, Puri and Konark.

Poojari allegedly gave Halaswamy Rs 1.5 crore bribe following Chaitra’s instructions at his residence in Vijayanagar in Bengaluru.

Chaitra, who is in CCB custody, had earlier claimed that the names of “big people” would come out once the seer was arrested.