Bengaluru: Actor Prakash Raj confirmed that he had spoken to CN Chinnayya, the masked whistleblower whose claims led to the Dharmasthala investigation, but denied allegations made against him in a writ petition. He said he would pursue legal action if unsubstantiated claims involving an alleged Rs 200 crore payment were made.
In a writ in the high court, Chinnayya claimed that a conspiracy was hatched by several individuals, activists, YouTubers and others to defame the temple town. He named Raj as one of those individuals.
At a press conference Wednesday, Raj said activist Girish Mattannavar had called and told him that the whistleblower wanted to speak to him. “Chinnayya insisted on meeting me, but I refused and asked him to talk to the police instead,” Raj said. “The man said he did not have the courage to approach the police. So, I asked him for a voice recording of his allegation and consulted my lawyer.”
By then, the government had appointed Pronab Mohanty, whom Raj called “an honest officer”, as head of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the allegations.
“I forwarded the audio clip to Mohanty. He thanked me for sharing the information and asked me to delete it,” Raj said. He added that when he later sought an update, he was told that the whistleblower had changed his position and was advised not to engage further.
Defending his actions, Raj said citizens have the right to seek answers on serious allegations. “There were reports that Soujanya and several women died, 30 bodies were buried, and 417 deaths had taken place. Such incidents should not take place either in Dharmasthala, Bidadi, or Bengaluru. We need to know who is responsible,” he said.
On allegations that payments were made to him, Raj said: “If the writ petition says Rs 200 crore was given to me, then I will take legal action because such allegations must be proved.”
Ahead of the press conference, journalists objected to Raj’s cryptic social media invitation and sought an apology. Raj said Bengaluru journalists were invited through the Press Club and insisted his social media remark was directed only at individuals who had criticised him online.
Responding to questions on home minister Priyank Kharge’s query to RSS, Raj said, “What is wrong in asking a question?” He said all organisations should be transparent about their finances and sources of funding. “If RSS thinks it’s unnecessary to respond, they can give it in writing saying they are not answerable. If the home minister finds a law where he will hold them responsible, he will,” he said.
On the proposed Bidadi township, Raj said he would support farmers if he found injustice was being done to them but would first study the issue.
