Mysore/Mysuru: Two persons including a Church Pastor, convicted of cheating people of facilitating sites under Ashraya Housing Scheme, have been awarded four years and six months of Rigorous Imprisonment and Rs. 10,000 fine each, by the First Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court in  city.

M.B. Shankar and Joseph Stephen, Church Pastor residents of Mahadevapura, are the two persons, who were sentenced to jail by Judge A.G. Shilpa of First Additional CJM Court, besides ordering to pay Rs. 1.5 lakh as compensation to the victims.

The duo had promised sites and collected Rs. 3.7 lakh from each of Siddaram Chalavadi and Bhaskar Doddamani and Rs. 5.6 lakh from Jayaram, KSRTC bus drivers-cum-conductors, at a depot. When the trio went to Shankar, demanding their money back, the latter who claimed to be a Judge, issued a murder threat. Following a complaint, the then Vidyaranyapuram Police Inspector Mohit Sahadev had conducted the investigation and filed a charge-sheet.

Public Prosecutor K. Prakash argued the case.