BENGALURU: Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda announced on Friday that an FIR has been registered in connection with an alleged extortion case involving Union Minister of Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy. The complaint was filed by Vijay Tata, who claims to be a functionary of the Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] party. Initially, the police had registered a non-cognizable report upon receiving Tata’s complaint.
Commissioner Dayananda assured that the investigation would be conducted transparently and without bias. “We will investigate the case in an unbiased and transparent manner,” he stated after participating in a police parade at the CAR (South) grounds.
The FIR, filed at the Amruthahalli police station, names MLC Ramesh Gowda as the first accused and H.D. Kumaraswamy as the second accused. Realtor Vijay Tata, a resident of Dasarahalli, alleges that they demanded ₹50 crore from him and issued life threats.
According to Tata’s complaint, he has been associated with the JD(S) since 2018 and currently serves as the vice president of the party’s social media wing. He claims that during the 2019 Mandya Lok Sabha elections, he campaigned on social media for JD(S) candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy and personally spent crores of rupees.
Tata alleges that on August 24, former MLC Ramesh Gowda visited his home and called Kumaraswamy, indicating that Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s ticket for the Channapatna by-election was finalized. Gowda allegedly told Tata, “This time in the Channapatna by-election, it is inevitable for us to win, and ₹50 crore will have to be paid for election expenses.” Tata claims he responded by saying he did not have such funds but would continue to be involved in party activities.
He further alleges that Kumaraswamy became infuriated and threatened him: “If you don’t prepare ₹50 crore, I don’t know what I will do. Not only will you not run a real estate business in Bangalore, but it will be difficult to live here.” Tata also claims that Ramesh Gowda pressured him to contribute ₹5 crore for building a temple and a school, warning of trouble if he did not comply.
However, Chandan H.S., president of the JD(S) social media cell, dismissed the allegations as “false.” In a letter, Chandan stated that Vijay Tata does not hold any position within the party’s social media wing and accused him of seeking publicity. He added that the party plans to file a complaint against Tata.
