Eight people were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the Rs 40 lakh chit-fund company scam.
Complainant Gurcharan Singh said he had “invested” the money after selling his land to earn higher rate of interest.
An FIR at Shaina police station was registered at the instance of Gurcharan Singh of Pakho Kenchian village, who claimed to have deposited ` 25 lakh with the accused firms Crown Next and Crown Credit Cooperative Society Limited.
His relative Lovepreet Singh, sarpanch of Khudi Khurd village, had also allegedly put ` 15 lakh in the company to earn higher rate of interest.
Police arrested the accused, belonging to the above firms, Jagjit Singh of Amritsar; Jaswinder Singh, Shiv Kumar, Eish Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Gulshan Kumar and Kewal Krishan, all from Barnala; and Manjit Singh of Pharwahi village.
SP (detective) Swarn Singh Khanna said, “The accused were arrested while they were holding a meeting on Tuesday afternoon in their office at Green Avenue Colony. A case has been registered against them under Sections 420, 406, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of the IPC, and Section 4 and 5 of the Prize Chit and Circulating Scheme (Banning) Act.”
“The accused fir ms had issued just handwritten receipts to the complainants. No policy bond or official receipts were issued,” Khanna said.
{{/usCountry}}“The accused fir ms had issued just handwritten receipts to the complainants. No policy bond or official receipts were issued,” Khanna said.
{{/usCountry}}Illegal money-pooling activities have been mushrooming and people alleging non-refund of their amount by these firms. Khanna, however, said it was the first FIR against these firms.
SSP Opinderjit Singh Ghuman said, “We are trying to compile details of their properties and bank accounts. The public can assist us by providing such details.” Finance minister Parminder Dhindsa was not available for comment.