The Subramanyanagar police on Saturday arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly posing as the personal assistant of a former Power Minister and duping two people — an unemployed woman and a civil service aspirant — of a total of ₹27 lakh by promising them government jobs. The accused, Manjunath, was arrested on Saturday following a complaint by Venkatesh, who was hoping to enter the civil services. Manjunath’s girlfriend, Sudharani, 24, who the police claim handled his finances, was also arrested.
According to the police Manjunath, who hails from Tumakuru and lives in a rented house on Magadi Road, was unemployed but would tell people that he was the PA to Minister D.K. Shivakumar. He befriended Venkatesh at a library in Rajajinagar and promised him to get a government job using his influence with KSPC members, but at a price, said the police. Trusting him, Venkatesh paid him ₹15 lakh in instalments.
Things came to a head when Manjunath presented Venkatesh with a forged appointment letter for a post in the Revenue Department. Armed with the letter, the young man reported for the job only to be told that he had fallen prey to a scam. After realising that he had been duped, Venkatesh filed a complaint with the Subramanyanagar police last Thursday. The police tracked down Manjunath and arrested him as well as his girlfriend. “We found that the two had scammed an unemployed woman from Malleswaram in a similar manner,” said a police officer.
They allegedly took ₹12 lakh from her, promising her a post of first division assistant at the High Court. The woman, too, filed a complaint with the Malleswaram police last week.
“Manjunath did not spare his relatives. He duped his cousin in Tumakuru by promising to get him a government job, but the cousin confronted the family and got his money back,” said Chethan Singh Rathod, DCP, (North).