Aishwarya Gowda remanded in 14-day ED custody in cheating case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has secured a 14-day custody of Aishwarya Gowda, accused of cheating a Bengaluru-based jeweller of ₹9.82 crore worth of gold, falsely claiming to be the sister of senior Congress leader D.K. Suresh.

On Thursday, ED not only conducted searches against Ms. Gowda, but also against senior Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni and another Congress leader Tibbegowda, whose wife is the complainant against Ms. Gowda.

ED arrested Ms. Gowda late Thursday night. She was produced before the Special Court for Economic Offences, Bengaluru on Friday and the court remanded her in 14 days ED custody. 

Mr. Kulkarni is also expected to be summoned for questioning in the case. Bengaluru City Police, who had arrested Ms. Gowda earlier in a cheating case, had recovered a high-end car belonging to Ms. Gowda’s husband from Mr. Kulkarni. She had reportedly gifted him the car and he was using it, sources said. 

Responding to ED raids on his premises, Mr. Kulkarni, speaking to media persons on Friday, said that the central agencies had been targeting him for years and this had only been the latest instance.

In their probe into the case, Bengaluru City Police had uncovered several other instances of cheating and her bank accounts revealed transactions of over ₹70 crore. Following this, Assistant Commissioner of Police Bharath Reddy had written to the Income Tax Department and ED alerting them to alleged irregularities. Based on this report, ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the case.