Senior Chhattisgarh Congress leader Khunte booked for cheating

The police have registered a case of cheating against former Member of Parliament and Chhattisgarh Congress vice president P R Khunte, a police official said today.
A case was registered against him under Section 420 (cheating and dishonesty) of the Indian Penal Code last evening at Rajendra Nagar police station, based on a complaint that he allegedly took Rs 10 lakh and promised a Zilla Panchayat Chairman's post to a woman public representative in Chhattisgarh's Mungeli district, Raipur Superintendent of Police O P Pal told PTI here.
The SP added that no arrest has been made and a probe is on.

A native of Umaria village in Mungeli district, namely Santosh Kumar Dhritlahre had complained to the police that Khunte had taken Rs 10 lakh from his wife Shashi, who won the Mungeli Zilla Panchayat member election in January-February this year, assuring her that he would make her president of the Zilla Panchayat, the police official said.
However, later another Zilla Panchayat Member Krishna Baghel was elected to the post.
As per Dhritlahre's complaint, his wife Shashi had paid money to Khunte at his Palash Vihar residence in Raipur's Mahaveer Nagar, Pal said.

After an inquiry, a case has been registered against Khunte, he added.

Meanwhile, the Congress has claimed that Khunte has been "implicated in a false case".
"It is a political conspiracy. He is innocent and is being implicated in a false case," Chhattisgarh state Congress general secretary Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said.