Bangalore conman claimed kinship with minister

A conman posing as a relative of home and transport minister R Ashoka cheated a youth of Rs5 lakh by promising him a job in the road transport department.

The victim R Manjunath, 27, realised that he had been cheated when he did not find his name in the selection list. When contacted, the accused refused to return the money and threatened to put him behind bars, using the minister’s influence.

Manjunath had applied for the post of assistant traffic manager in the state road transport corporation. His friends — TS Nagesh and Narayanswamy — suggested that he use a recommendation from a minister.

He was introduced to Venkat Reddy, who claimed to be a close relative of transport minister R Ashoka. Reddy demanded Rs7 lakh for getting Manjunath the job. Manjunath paid Rs5 lakh as advance.

He promised to pay the rest later, after getting the job. Manjunath managed to arrange the money from his relatives. However, when the list of successful candidates was put up, Manjunath’s name did not figure in it. He sought an explanation from Reddy.

Initially, Reddy agreed to return the amount and paid Rs2.9 lakh. However, he gave him a cheque for the balance amount on October 20, which bounced.

When Manjunath approached Reddy again, he refused to return the money stating that he would use his influence to implicate him in a false case.

Fearing that police would not initiate any action against him due to his political influence, Manjunath approached the court seeking directions to Sheshadripuram police to initiate necessary action against Reddy.

However, Sheshadripuram police said it was not aware of the complaint.