The brother and nephew of Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pralhad Joshi were arrested on Saturday for allegedly defrauding former Karnataka MLA Sunitha Chavan of Rs2.5 crore. This development follows a complaint filed by Chavan, the wife of former Nagthan MLA and Janata Dal (Secular) leader Devanand Fulasing Chavan.
In response to the allegations, Pralhad Joshi distanced himself from his brother, stating they have been estranged for 32 years.
Sunitha Chavan claims that Gopal Joshi promised her and her husband a BJP ticket for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, reportedly taking Rs2.5 crore from them under the pretense of securing support from “Amit Shah’s secretary.” She recounted a phone call where Gopal Joshi connected her with someone he claimed was Amit Shah’s secretary, saying, “How would I know who that was on a phone call?”
In addition to the arrests of Gopal Joshi and his son Ajay Joshi, police have previously apprehended Somashekar Nayak, who is believed to have conspired with the accused, as well as Vijaya Kumari, who falsely posed as Pralhad Joshi’s sister using the name Vijayalakshmi Joshi. Gopal and Ajay Joshi were detained in Kohlapur and Pune, respectively, before being brought to Hubbali for further investigation.
