Bengaluru: The 21st Sessions Court in Bengaluru on Friday rejected the anticipatory bail petition of V Nagaraj alias Bomb Naga. The anticipatory bail petition was filed by Nagaraj on April 17 to evade arrest by police.

Nagaraj, a former corporator of Bengaluru City Corporation, is absconding since April 14. The police have raided his residence at Srirampura in central Bengaluru and seized Rs 14.80 crore in scrapped currency notes of face value of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.

Nagaraj, in the anticipatory bail petition, claimed before the court that he did not know anything about the demonetized currency notes seized from his house. “I do not know how the money was seized from my house and I suspect it to be a well-organised plot to tarnish my image,” Naga said in the bail application.

He has further told the court that he has got a good image among the public through his social service, but it is being maligned by the police.

The Hennur police had raided Naga’s house following a complaint from Umesh, who stated that Naga had kidnapped him on March 18 and extorted Rs 50 lakh and gold ornaments from him and his other friends.

Umesh was previously arrested by the Central Crime Branch police on April 2 along with 13 others, including Veerendra Kumar, son-in-law of Congress lawmaker C Veeranna Mathikatti, for trying to exchange Rs 9.1 crore banned currency notes. He was later released on bail.

The police have intensified the search for Naga and his two sons Gandhi and Shastry, who are suspected to be hiding in Tamil Nadu. There were also reports that he might surrender before a court.