Bengaluru

AnFIR has been registered against a school teacher, who claimed to be a journalist, and his two associates for allegedly cheating a woman of Rs 1.05 crore on the pretext of securing her nomination for the post of MLC, police said on Thursday.

The 54-year-old victim, who hails from Mangaluru, has been associated with a charitable trust for the past 25 years and involved in social service activities, they said. The alleged cheating took place between 2024 and 2025, police said, adding that notices would be issued to the accused for questioning as part of the probe.

According to the FIR registered at Halasuru Gate police station on July 27, the prime accused, Sirigere Yerriswamy, introduced himself as part of the Congress party’s media team when she first met him in 2024 at Vidhana Soudha, and claimed to have close links with senior party leaders.

He allegedly convinced her that, given the reputation she had earned through her social work, she could obtain a good political position. He claimed he would speak to AICC leaders in Delhi and secure her nomination for the post of MLC, and showed her photographs of himself with Congress leaders. He told her she would have to pay Rs 5 crore for this, the complainant alleged.

When she said she did not have such a large amount, he told her Rs 1.25 crore would suffice, the FIR stated. She subsequently arranged Rs 1 crore by borrowing from close associates and handed it over on August 10, 2024, to his two associates — Siddaraju and Basavaraju — as instructed by Yerriswamy, the complainant claimed. She later handed over Rs 5 lakh to a woman in Malleshwaram on January 10, 2025, again on Yerriswamy’s instructions, the FIR stated.

On the pretext that she had been called for an interview by AICC leaders in New Delhi, the accused allegedly took her there and had her stay at a hotel, where he misbehaved with her and sexually harassed her, she alleged. When she later asked him to return her money, he threatened to kill her if she persisted, the FIR said.

Based on her complaint, a case has been registered against the three accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said, adding that she later discovered he was, in fact, a government school teacher.

The police station concerned had earlier registered only a Non-Cognisable Report based on her complaint, following which she approached the court, which directed the police to register an FIR, investigate the allegations and submit a report by August 25. Further investigation is underway.