The brother and nephew of Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pralhad Joshi were arrested on Saturday for allegedly cheating a former Karnataka MLA of Rs 2.5 crore, reported Deccan Herald.

The arrests were made on a complaint filed by Sunitha Chavan, the wife of former Nagthan MLA and Janata Dal (Secular) leader Devanand Fulasing Chavan.

Following this, Pralhad Joshi distanced himself from his brother, stating that they have been estranged for 32 years.

Sunitha Chavan alleged that Gopal Joshi had promised her and her husband a BJP ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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Gopal Joshi reportedly took Rs 2.5 crore from the couple for “Amit Shah’s secretary”, reported The Print.

“Once Gopal Joshi even added me on a conference call with someone that he referred to as Amit Shah’s secretary,” Sunita Chavan told The Print. “How would I know who that was on a phone call?”

The police had earlier arrested a person named Somashekar Nayak, who is believed to have conspired with the other accused, and Vijaya Kumari, who posed as Pralhad Joshi’s sister using the name Vijayalakshmi Joshi, according to Deccan Herald.

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Gopal Joshi and his son Ajay Joshi were detained in Kohlapur and Pune, respectively, unidentified police officers told the newspaper. They were brought to Hubbali.

On Friday, Pralhad Joshi clarified that he has no sister named Vijayalakshmi Joshi.

In a social media post, the minister said he filed a civil suit in November 2013 in the City Civil Court, Bengaluru, stating that he and Gopal Joshi had been separated for 20 years at the time.

“In 2012, a Family Arraignment Deed (Vaivastha Pathra) was executed to specify that we do not constitute any joint family status or any joint transaction socially and financially,” said Pralhad Joshi, who holds the Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New and Renewable Energy portfolios.