The Judicial Magistrate Court at N.R. Pura in Chikkamagaluru convicted a 38-year-old man and his 23-year-old relative for blackmail and attempt to extort ₹22 lakh from a former MLA. The court sentenced them to two years of simple imprisonment and a fine of ₹5,000. CID had probed the case and filed a chargesheet.
The accused are Manu H.M., from Echekere village in Chikkamagaluru, and his relative Aranyani. According to the police, the accused was working with the MLA and started demanding taluk president’s post.
The accused, when he realised that he is not getting the post, started threatening then Sringeri MLA D.N. Jeevaraj from BJP and even used his relative to file false charges of rape and cheating in November 2013. The accused started demanding a ransom of ₹5 crore to withdraw the complaint and even negotiated the ransom amount to ₹22 lakh. The accused threatened to approach the media with the information to defame him if his demands were not met.
Unable to bear the harassment, Mr. Jeevaraj filed a complaint with the police.
