Ludhiana : In Punjab, an FIR has been lodged against former Congress MLA Pritam Singh Kotbhai. Former Congress MLA Kotbhai has been accused of duping Pearl Group Chairman Nirmal Singh Bhangu. A case has been registered against six, including former Congress MLA Pritam Singh Kotbhai, for allegedly duping Pearl Group chairman Nirmal Singh Bhangu, the main accused in the multi-crore chit fund scam, reports news agency Bhasha. .
Police arrested three, three absconding
Ludhiana Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu said three persons, Jeevan Singh, Dharamveer Singh and Dalip Singh Tripathi, have been arrested in connection with cheating Pearl Group Chairman Nirmal Singh Bhangu, while three including Congress MLA Pritam Singh Kotbhai have been arrested. People are absconding. It is said that Pritam Singh Kotbhai had contested elections on a Congress ticket from Bhucho Mandi area of Punjab and has already filed a case against him in the chit fund case.
Bhangu’s nephew filed a police complaint
Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu said that on the complaint of Shinder Singh, nephew of Pearl Group chief Nirmal Singh Bhangu, a case of cheating has been registered against former Congress MLA Pritam Singh Kotbhai. Shinder Singh has said in his complaint to the police that former MLA Pritam Singh Kotbhai met his uncle Nirmala Singh Bhangu, who was sent from Tihar Jail to Bathinda Jail a few months back. The complainant said that Kotbhai had told Bhangu that he had considerable influence in the government and that if he gave him Rs 5 crore, he could get him released from jail.
Cheated of five crore rupees in the name of release from jail
According to the police, in the name of release from jail, Nirmal Singh Bhangu had agreed to give Rs 3.5 crore as advance to former Congress MLA Pritam Singh Kotbhai and Rs 1.5 crore after his release from jail. Bhangu told this to his nephew Shinder Singh, who borrowed Rs 3.5 crore on interest from a person named Gurdhari Lal and deposited this amount in the accounts of various companies as per the instructions of Pritam Singh Kotbhai.
CBI arrests four including Pearls Group Chairman Bhangu
Kotbhai got the money deposited in the accounts of fake companies
Police said that after depositing the money in the accounts of the companies, Nirmal Singh Bhangu’s nephew Shinder Singh came to know that all the companies in whose accounts he had deposited the money were fake. After that a case has been registered against Pritam Singh Kotbhai and five others under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Chit fund company Pearl Group had allegedly cheated many people in different parts of the country including Punjab by operating various investment schemes illegally.
