BENGALURU: Having gone underground since the seizure of `14.8 crore in demonetised currencies from his house in the city last week, former corporator and rowdy-sheeter Nagaraj alias Bomb Naga has claimed that he knows nothing about the cash.
In his anticipatory bail plea filed in a local court, Nagaraj suspected the seizure to be a “well organised plot” to tarnish his “good image”.
According to sources, Nagaraj’s plea said the police are trying to “malign” his name based upon a complaint filed by one Umesh, who is accused of converting demonetised currencies into new banknotes.
“I do not know how the money was seized from my house and I suspect it to be a well organised plot to tarnish my image,” he stated in his bail application filed by one of his wives. Nagaraj is suspected to be hiding in Tamil Nadu.
On April 7, Umesh had filed a complaint stating that he had been abducted and taken to Nagaraj’s house and released on a payment of `50 lakh. Following the complaint, police had raided Nagaraj’s multi-storey house at Srirampura in the city on April 14 and stumbled on `14.80 crore in banned currencies.
However, Nagaraj and his sons Shastry and Gandhi managed to escape. Umesh had been previously arrested by the Central Crime Branch police along with 13 others, including MLC Veeranna Mathikatti’s son-in-law Praveen Kumar on April 2.
According to the police, Umesh was trying to exchange `9.1 crore in demonetised currencies with new notes. He was later released on bail. Police sources said they are yet to get any communication from the court about Nagaraj’s advance bail application.