Bengaluru: School teacher booked for cheating woman of ₹1.5 crore over false promise of MLC seat
A school teacher, who also claimed to be a journalist, has been booked for allegedly cheating a 54-year-old woman from Mangaluru of ₹1.5 crore by
A school teacher, who also claimed to be a journalist, has been booked for allegedly cheating a 54-year-old woman from Mangaluru of ₹1.5 crore by falsely promising to secure her a nomination to the Karnataka Legislative Council (MLC). Based on the woman’s complaint, the Halasuru Gate police have registered an FIR against Sirigere Yerriswamy and his associates, Siddaraju and Basavaraju. According to the complaint, Yerriswamy introduced himself as a journalist and claimed to be a member of the Congress party’s media team. He allegedly convinced the complainant that he had close links with former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and senior AICC leader Randeep Singh Surjewala, and assured her that he could get her nominated to the Legislative Council through the ruling Congress.
The complainant, who is associated with a social trust, stated that she first met Yerriswamy at Vidhana Soudha in 2024. He allegedly demanded ₹5 crore for securing an MLC nomination, which was later negotiated down to ₹1.25 crore. She alleged that, acting on Yerriswamy’s instructions, she handed over ₹1 crore to Basavaraju and Siddaraju, and paid another ₹5 lakh to a woman. The complainant further alleged that Yerriswamy took her to New Delhi on the pretext of arranging a meeting with senior AICC leaders, where he allegedly misbehaved with her at a hotel.
She later realised that the promise of an MLC nomination was false. When she demanded the return of her money, the accused allegedly threatened her with dire consequences. She later discovered that he was, in fact, a government school teacher. The police said the alleged cheating took place between 2024 and 2025, and the investigation is under way. Notices will be issued to the accused for questioning. Initially, the Halasuru Gate police registered only a Non-Cognisable Report (NCR) based on the complaint. The complainant subsequently approached the court, which directed the police to register an FIR, investigate the allegations, and submit a report by August 25.
Following the court’s direction, the police registered the case and intensified the investigation.
The BriefWire