KA Paul allegedly took Rs 2 lakh from the woman and promised to get her a sponsorship letter for a US visa.
After facing a thorough decimation in the recently-held General elections in Andhra Pradesh, evangelist-turned-politician, president of Praja Shanthi Party KA Paul has landed in fresh trouble. Paul has been booked for allegedly cheating a woman to the tune of Rs 2 lakh by promising her a sponsorship letter for a US visa using his influence. However, as Paul didn't get her the letter as agreed, the woman approached the Punjagutta police in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
In her complaint, Satyavathi Katragadda, a resident of Ramachandrapuram, accused Paul and his two associates – Jyothi and Vijay – of cheating her. According to the victim, she met Jyothi and Vijay at Paul’s office in Punjagutta seeking their help in getting a visa. Paul, who has toured many countries including the USA, allegedly said that he could get her a sponsorship letter from the US embassy, for which he demanded Rs 15 lakh. However, as she negotiated, he agreed to get the letter for Rs 2 lakh.
“As per his advice, I gave a cheque of Rs 2 lakh in the name of Jyothi on May 8. After handing over the cheque, there was no reply. When I contacted them, Vijay and Jyothi asked me to wait till the Parliamentary election results are announced. When I contacted them again on May 23, Paul demanded Rs 15 lakh additionally for arranging the papers,” Satyavathi stated in her complaint.
Speaking to the media, Satyavathi said, “That’s when I understood that he wouldn’t give me the initial amount of Rs 2 lakh nor the Rs 15 lakh if I pay him. Before filing the complaint, I warned them about approaching police, but they failed to respond, so I went ahead.”
Based on the complaint, the police have filed a case under IPC sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating). Speaking to TNM, Punjagutta Station House Officer, B Mohan Kumar said, “We have filed the case and the investigation is underway. We are verifying the allegations in the complaint.”
Paul who had formed the Praja Shanthi Party in 2008, made his political entry in 2019 elections. He had contested in all 175 Assembly seats and even field MP candidates. He was accused of being TDP’s B-team, in fact the YSRCP filed a complaint against his party with the Election Commission for fielding candidates with names identical to the YSRCP candidates, similar vote symbol and similar party colour in a bid to confuse the voters. However, these tactics did not fetch a single seat for the party.
In 2012, he was even arrested by the Ongole police for allegedly trying to hush up the murder of his brother, by bribing a police officer to kill the main accused in the case under the guise of an 'encounter'.
Body 2: