Belagavi police have arrested Allamaprabhu Hiremath, 35, a swami at the Hallur mutt in Hallur village near Mudalagi on two charges of swindling money from devotees.
Hiremath took ₹4 lakh from Santosh Halevvagol of Mudalagi town, promising to get him a government job. However, when the victim did not get the job, he realised that he had been swindled. When Santosh went to the mutt to ask the swami to return the money, he refused. The swami also attacked the complainant and stabbed him in the back and legs. Santosh escaped to Belagavi and lodged a complaint with the police.
The second allegation is more serious. Hiremath collected money from two persons in Bengaluru, claiming to be able to influence election results by hacking into Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), a police officer said. A complaint was filed by Prashant Kumar, a resident of Bengaluru.
This charge is being investigated. Appropriate evidence will be sent to the office of Election Commission of India, an officer said.
