Arrest warrant against Sriramulu in cheque bounce case

BELLARY: An arrest warrant was issued against B Sriramulu, BJP MP from Bellary, in a Rs 2.97 crore cheque bounce case. Sriramulu had issued the cheque to L Somanna, president of BSR (Congress), Mysore unit, an outfit he had floated.
The arrest warrant, issued by a magistrate court in Bangalore on September 10, directed Sriramulu to appear in court by September 23. Somanna initially filed the complaint at Bellary Rural police station on April 13, but fearing intimidation by Sriramulu, he got the case transferred to Bangalore.
In the complaint, Somanna said he contested on a BSR (Congress) ticket from HD Kote assembly constituency in Mysore district in 2013, and was defeated. Later, Sriramulu is said to have promised him an MLC seat and the Raichur Lok Sabha ticket, for which he reportedly demanded Rs 1,45,70,000 on March 17, 2014.
Somanna claimed that in all, Sriramulu had taken Rs 2,96,70,000 from him as a loan; this included the amount for the LS ticket. Sriramulu issued a cheque for this amount, drawn on ING Vysya Bank, Ulsoor branch, dated March 20. However, when he presented the cheque to the bank, it bounced as there were no funds in the account.
“When I approached Sriramulu, he and his supporters assaulted me and issued death threats,’’ he said in his complaint. Bellary Rural police registered a complaint under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 420 (cheating) against Sriramulu. The MP was not available for comment.