Bengaluru priest arrested after he used Sudha Murty’s name to collect Rs 5 Lakh

Mangalore Today News Network / News18

Bengaluru, Oct 17, 2023: A priest from Bengaluru’s Malleshwaram was arrested by the police after he fraudulently collected Rs 5 lakh by misusing Infosys foundation chairperson Sudha Murty’s name. The 34-year-old priest has been identified as Arun Kumar. He falsely assured the presence of Murty as a chief guest at an event of Kannada Koota in California. It was only after an investigation was registered into a cybercrime case by the Jayanagar police, Kumar was arrested. This is in connection with a scam where two women were booked in connection to two separate cases where Murty’s name was misused. After investigation, it turned out that Kumar was the mastermind behind both the scams.

 

Kumar duped a group from the Kannada Koota of Northern California of Rs 5 lakh as he assured the participation of Murty as a chief guest at their 50th anniversary event. However, the author had previously declined the invitation from the group in April itself. A woman, who was posing as a member of the philanthropist’s staff, assured her presence.

The incident came to light after pictures and videos pointing out Murty as the chief guest surfaced.

Kumar has confessed to scamming organisers and collecting Rs 5 lakh as an advance.

Earlier in the scam, two women were booked in Bengaluru for allegedly duping people by using the name and photograph of Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murty. They were booked after Murty’s executive assistant Mamata Sanjay filed a complaint. The accused were identified as Lavanya and Shruti.

Murty is a renowned author of over 150 books, a philanthropist, and social worker. She is married to Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy. Despite holding all of these powerful positions in society, she is known for her humility. Her simplicity shines through her daily gestures.