Bengaluru: A special court for elected representatives has sentenced Nagaveni, daughter-in-law of the late Congress functionary and minister RL Jalappa, to five years of simple imprisonment with a fine of Rs 20,000 for defrauding a medical seat aspirant’s family of Rs 45 lakh in 2021.Besides Nagaveni, police had also charge-sheeted her husband J Narasimhaswamy, son of Jalappa, as the prime accused. However, he died in 2024. Two more men were acquitted of the charges.Nagaveni was present in court when special judge Sandeep Patil passed the orders Thursday. She was immediately shifted to Bengaluru Central Prison. According to the judge, Nagaveni was found guilty of hatching a criminal conspiracy and cheating.The verdict brings to a close a long-running medical seat scam handled by Yelahanka police, underscoring the legal consequences facing well-connected political families involved in fraudulent admission rackets.The case dates back to an admission fraud engineered by Nagaveni and her late husband, J Narasimhaswamy. Exploiting their political stature and family ties to prominent educational institutions in the state, the couple targeted families desperate to secure management-quota medical seats.According to court documents, a complainant named Prakash Kumar Yarappa approached the couple in 2019 to secure an MBBS seat for his daughter. Narasimhaswamy and Nagaveni promised to deliver a seat under the management quota in exchange for Rs 45 lakh, which Yarappa paid in multiple installments between 2019 and 2020. However, after collecting the cash, the couple failed to secure the medical admission. When Yarappa realised he had been duped and demanded his money back, Narasimhaswamy issued two post-dated cheques — one for Rs 25 lakh and the other for Rs 20 lakh. Both cheques bounced due to insufficient funds. Realising that the influential family had no intention of voluntarily returning the money, Yarappa lodged a formal criminal complaint with Yelahanka police.
