Pralhad Joshi’s brother booked for ‘cheating’ ex-MLA’s wife
The FIR registered by Basaveshwara Nagar police named Pralhad Joshi’s brother Gopal Joshi, his sister Vijayalakshmi Joshi, and Gopal’s son Ajay Joshi.
Sunita Chauhan, wife of former Janata Dal (Secular) legislator Devanand Chauhan, has filed a cheating case against Gopal Joshi, elder brother of Union minister and Hubballi-Dharwad Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pralhad Joshi.
According to the complaint, lodged with the Basaveshwar Nagar police in Bengaluru, Gopal Joshi had taken ₹1.75 crore from her under the pretext of securing a BJP ticket for her husband to contest the Vijaypura parliamentary constituency.
The FIR registered by Basaveshwara Nagar police named Pralhad Joshi’s brother Gopal Joshi, his sister Vijayalakshmi Joshi, and Gopal’s son Ajay Joshi.
Police have registered cases under the BNS sections 318 (cheating), 130 (assault), 32 (life threat), and 79 (prevention of atrocities against Dalits and backward classes).
DCP Bengaluru (West) S Girish said: “Sunita has accused Gopal Joshi of promising to help her husband secure the BJP ticket in exchange for hefty sum. According to her, after failing to deliver on the promise, Gopal, along with his sister Vijayalakshmi and son Ajay, allegedly resorted to violence and caste-based abuse when she demanded her money back.”
Sunita told reporters that Gopal Joshi took the money in two instalments, including an initial ₹25 lakh advance. “I trusted him because of the minister’s position, and that’s why I handed him the amount,” she said.
When the BJP ticket failed to materialise, Sunita allegedly asked for the money back but was reportedly threatened and beaten. She also alleged that she was subjected to caste-based abuse, as she belongs to the Lamani community, which falls under the backward classes. “I’ve filed an atrocity case as well, given the caste-based abuse I faced,” she said.
Devanand Chauhan, who represented the Nagathana assembly constituency in Vijaypura district in 2018, lost in the 2023 elections and had hoped to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections under the BJP ticket, which led to the financial transaction.
Reacting to the allegations, Union minister Pralhad Joshi, while addressing the media in Hubballi on Friday, dismissed the accusations as baseless. “The allegations against my brother are false and politically motivated. My brother will face the case,” he said. Joshi added that he has always instructed his family and relatives not to misuse his name or position, a directive he says they continue to follow.