Mysore/Mysuru: A City Court has sentenced two persons, including a former Deputy Registrar of Karnataka State Open University (KSOU), to rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 40,000 each for cheating job aspirants by promising them Government posts.

The First Additional Senior Civil Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court found 71-year-old M. Krishnamurthy of Gandhinagar, a former KSOU Deputy Registrar, and 65-year-old Manjunath of N.R. Mohalla guilty of defrauding candidates by offering First Division Assistant (FDA) and Second Division Assistant (SDA) jobs at the University.

According to the prosecution, Krishnamurthy had collected a total of Rs. 8 lakh from Govinda Pawar, Prakash and Maruthi on the pretext of securing them jobs at KSOU.

He had also issued fake appointment letters, and this fraud was established during the Police investigation. A case in this regard had been registered at Jayalakshmipuram Police Station.

The investigation was carried out by then Sub-Inspector T.P. Muthanna, who later filed the charge sheet in Court.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge A.G. Shilpa convicted the accused and sentenced them to two-and-a-half years of rigorous imprisonment under Sections 406, 468, 471 and 420 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for each offence, along with a fine of Rs. 40,000. Assistant Public Prosecutor K. Prakash represented the State.