The woman told the police that the teacher allegedly demanded Rs 5 crore to arrange the MLC nomination, but later settled for Rs 1.25 crore. (Representational image)The Bengaluru police have booked a government school teacher, who allegedly posed as a journalist having close links with the Congress leadership, for cheating a woman from Mangaluru of Rs 1 crore by promising to secure her a nomination to the Karnataka Legislative Council (MLC).In her complaint, the woman, who is associated with a social trust, also accused the teacher, Sirigere Yerriswamy, 56, of misbehaving with her at a hotel in New Delhi, where she was taken on the pretext of arranging a meeting with senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) leaders in 2025.Apart from Yerriswamy, the Halasuru Gate police also registered a case against his associates, Siddaraju and Basavaraju, on July 27, following a court direction.According to the complaint, Yerriswamy claimed to be part of the Congress party’s media team when she first met him in 2024 at Vidhana Soudha. He allegedly told her that he had close ties with former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and senior AICC leader Randeep Singh Surjewala and could use his influence to secure her a nomination to the Legislative Council.The accused have been booked on allegations of cheating, criminal intimidation, outraging the modesty of a woman, and other related offences.“Notices will be issued to the accused, and further investigation is underway,” a senior police officer said.Also read | Karnataka MLC polls: Congress clears 4 names, 1 more to goThe woman told the police that he allegedly demanded Rs 5 crore to arrange the nomination, but later settled for Rs 1.25 crore. Subsequently, she handed over Rs 1 crore to Basavaraju and Siddaraju, and paid another Rs 5 lakh to a woman as per Yerriswamy’s direction.Story continues below this adThe police said that the woman sought her money back from Yerriswamy on realising that his promises were false. “The accused allegedly threatened her with dire consequences, and later on the woman discovered that Yerriswamy was, in fact, a government school teacher,” said an officer.Initially, the police had registered only a Non-Cognisable Report (NCR) on the complaint. The woman later approached a court, which directed the police to register a First Information Report (FIR), investigate the allegations and submit a report by August 25. Following the court’s order, the police registered the case and began a formal investigation.