Close on the heels of two persons conning public as tax consultants, a man is said to have duped some Congress leaders posing as AICC President Sonia Gandhi’s personal secretary. He landed in police net on Friday.
B N S Reddy, DCP, Central Crime Branch (CCB), told reporters Sadashivanagar police arrested Gunashekhar Pillai alias Shekhar Pillai, 54, of Saligram in Chennai, on charges of cheating Dr Appaji Gowda, a resident of Jayanagar.

Reddy said Dr Gowda wanted to set up a de-addiction centre here and wanted funds from Centre. He happened to meet Pillai, who promised him all “help”. Pillai had bragged he knew leaders of many political parties, including those from Congress and BJP.

Convinced by Pillai’s tall claims, Dr Gowda invited him to Bangalore. He brought him to Bangalore from New Delhi by flight.

Next morning, Pillai met Dr Gowda. On the latter’s insistence, Pillai agreet to meet Congress MLA D K Shivakumar. Dr Gowda had told Shivakumar Sonia’s “personal secretary” was in Bangalore.

To the imposter’s misfortune, Shivakumar had met Sonia’s secretary, Shekhar Pillai, once in New Delhi, said Mr Reddy. During his discussion with Pillai, Shivakumar realised the latter was not Sonia’s secretary, but an imposter. Shivakumar also called Shekhar Pillai to confirm this, Mr Reddy said.

He informed Dr Gowda about it. Soon, they complained to the police resulting in his arrest. During interrogation, Pillai said he hadn’t cheated anyone though he admitted to knowing many politicians in the national capital.
Meanwhile, the question remains. Why did Dr Gowda seek Central funds and why did he need people like Pillai to obtain funds for a noble cause.