ED summons D.K. Suresh in Aishwarya Gowda gold cheating case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has issued summons to former Member of Parliament D.K. Suresh in connection with the Aishwarya Gowda gold cheating case.

Aishwarya is alleged to have cheated multiple jewellers in the State of over ₹8 crore worth of gold, which she had taken on loan, reportedly after falsely claiming to be the sister of Mr. Suresh. In her complaint, one of the jewellers who was cheated claimed that when she demanded money for the gold she had given to Aishwarya, an actor who identified himself as Dharma had called her claiming to be Mr. Suresh. When the cheating came to light in 2024, Mr. Suresh had lodged a complaint with the Bengaluru Police Commissioner pointing out that his name was being misused by fraudsters.

‘Summoning me absurd’

Mr. Suresh told mediapersons on Tuesday that he had received the summons to appear before the agency on Thursday, but he had told ED officials that he would do so on June 23 due to a pre-scheduled programme on Thursday. “The accused in this case is in no way related to me. She has falsely claimed to be my sister. It is true that I have visited two events organised by her, as she was a voter in my constituency, and apart from that, I have had no other relationship with her. I have had no financial transactions with her. When it came to light that she was misusing my name, I lodged a police complaint. Summoning me in this case is absurd. But I will cooperate with the investigation,” he said.

His elder brother and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said a few people who were cheated by Aishwarya misusing Mr. Suresh’s name had met him earlier. “My brother’s name has been misused; he is a victim and has lodged a police complaint as well. But the ED has summoned him. We always respect the law and will cooperate with the investigation,” he told mediapersons.

In judicial custody

The ED had taken up a probe into the cheating case in April 2025, raided premises linked to Aishwarya and Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni, for his alleged links with the accused. The ED arrested Aishwarya and she is in judicial custody.

Published - June 17, 2025 07:53 pm IST