Bengaluru Woman Arrested For Cheating Karnataka's Elite Of Rs 20 Crore Alleging Political Connections

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken 33-year-old Aishwarya Gowda into custody, accused of orchestrating a series of sophisticated scams targeting Karnataka's elite, after allegedly laundering over ₹20 crore through fraudulent schemes, The Indian Express reported.

Gowda was arrested on Thursday and produced before a special court, which remanded her to ED custody for two weeks to enable further investigation, the report added.

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Officials stated that Gowda posed as the sister of senior Congress leaders, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and MP DK Suresh, to earn the trust of wealthy individuals, including doctors, business families, and jewellers.

The Bengaluru police had previously registered four separate cheating cases against her over the past year.

Investigators allege that Gowda enticed her victims by promising exceptionally high investment returns, exploiting her supposed political connections to bolster her credibility.

Among her alleged victims is Vanitha Aithal, a jewellery store owner, who claims that Gowda defrauded her of gold and cash worth more than ₹8 crore under the pretence of lucrative investment returns.

Details of the investigation

According to the publication, the ED's investigation has further uncovered that Gowda allegedly misused police resources to obtain confidential call detail records (CDRs) of some of her victims, raising serious concerns about her influence and reach within the system.

In addition to Aithal, Gowda's alleged victims include two doctors operating a plastic surgery clinic in Bengaluru, a maternity specialist, and a business family from Mandya. To maintain the appearance of affluence, Gowda reportedly resided in a luxury suite at a five-star hotel in North Bengaluru and travelled with a convoy of bodyguards and luxury vehicles, according to police sources.

In a parallel development, the name of Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni has emerged in connection with Gowda. Photographs circulating publicly show Gowda and Kulkarni together, and it is alleged that she gifted him a high-end car. However, Kulkarni has denied accepting any gifts, maintaining that their relationship was purely a casual acquaintance.

On Thursday, the ED also carried out searches at premises associated with Kulkarni as part of the ongoing investigation.