Cheating case against ex-president of Karaga temple committee

A former president of the Sri Dharmaraya Swamy Temple Committee is accused of pocketing the fixed deposit bond of Rs 21.5 lakh.

The temple is among the oldest in Bengaluru and is famous as the starting and end point of the annual Karaga festival.

Outgoing president A Rajagopal “failed” to hand over the FD bond — which he had taken from the committee members on July 25, 2018 — to the government-appointed administrative officer.

Venkataramana Guruprasad, an assistant commissioner in the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department, has taken over as administrative officer of the temple as the committee’s tenure has ended and a new committee is yet to be formed.

Officials wrote to Rajagopal twice, asking him to hand over the bond to the administrative officer but he is said to haven’t responded.

Guruprasad has filed a complaint at the Halasuru Gate police station, accusing Rajagopal of not returning the bond with an intention to cheat and seeking action against him.

Police have taken up a case and are investigating it.