Delhi's Rouse Avenue court on Monday awarded a seven-year jail sentence to former MLA Ranbir Singh Kharb and his wife Anita in a 17-year-old cheating case. The court has also imposed a fine of ₹44 lakh on them.
The husband-wife duo have been directed to surrender today, reported news agency ANI.
Notably, Kharb was the first Jat MLA from Najafgarh constituency in 2003 as an independent candidate. Prior to this, he reportedly worked as a fireman.
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What is 17-year-old cheating case?
Ranbir Singh Kharb launched a company ‘Jyoti Fair Finance’ in 1998, with his wife Anita as one of its directors. Soon after the company gained popularity and Kharb became an MLA, the duo began to induce people to invest money in their company. They allegedly promised investors that they would double their money in three years.
According to the police, all the victims of Kharb were either his close relatives or friends. “Due to the victims’ blind faith in the accused, most of them did not take any receipt for the money invested…The company gave an assurance that a high rate of interest would be paid regularly or the amount would be doubled in three years and money invested would be returned as and when required,” the police said.
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{{/usCountry}}According to the police, all the victims of Kharb were either his close relatives or friends. “Due to the victims’ blind faith in the accused, most of them did not take any receipt for the money invested…The company gave an assurance that a high rate of interest would be paid regularly or the amount would be doubled in three years and money invested would be returned as and when required,” the police said.
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{{/usCountry}}However, around 2002-2003, the investors began asking the duo for their promised returns. That is when Kharb allegedly shut down his office and disappeared overnight.
The police said that the couple duped people to the tune of ₹4.75 crore.
Meanwhile, one of the victims had claimed that Kharb became an MLA with the money accumulated through fraudulent means. “When he became an MLA in 2003, he asked us to forget the money invested by us. We then complained to the police a year later and a case was registered,” the victim had said.
In 2009, Kharb and his wife, who were allegedly on their way to surrender, were arrested by the police and sent to 14 days of judicial custody.