A man from Nagpur, Maharashtra has been arrested by the police for allegedly scamming three BJP MLAs by promising them ministerial positions in the Eknath Shinde-led government in exchange for money. The accused, identified as Neeraj Singh Rathod from Morbi district in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, was apprehended on Tuesday and brought to Nagpur. This is not the first time Rathod has been involved in such a case, as he was previously arrested by Delhi police last year for a similar offense.
According to a senior police official, Rathod had been in contact with approximately 28 MLAs from Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Delhi over the past three months, offering them ministerial positions in return for money. The accused pretended to be the personal assistant to BJP National President J P Nadda when contacting the MLAs, even claiming that Nadda himself would join the call. However, it was Rathod speaking in a different voice.
Rathod had previously been arrested in Delhi based on a complaint filed by a BJP legislator who was offered a role related to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the government’s housing scheme. He was granted bail in January of this year. The police have registered a complaint against Rathod under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including cheating by personation and criminal conspiracy.
During the initial investigation, the police discovered that money had been transferred online to the owner of a mobile shop near Rathod’s residence. The accused now faces multiple charges and will be further interrogated to gather more evidence related to the case.
