Multi-crore chit fund scam

Kotbhai, who won the Assembly elections in 2017 from Bathinda’s Bhucho Mandi constituency, has previously been booked in several chit-fund scam cases — in states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand —for allegedly duping people on the pretext of getting their money doubled.

Ludhiana Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu said that the police had lodged an FIR in the case after receiving a complaint from one Shinder Singh, a resident of Sector-38, Chandigarh road, Ludhiana. Shinder Singh, in his police complaint, had named Kotbhai and five others.

According to the police, the accused who have been booked are Jivan Singh of Gidderbaha, Dalip Kumar Tripathi of Lucknow, Sanjay Sharma of Faridabad, Sayid Parvej Rahman of Lucknow and Dharamvir of Gidderbaha. Police commissioner SIdhu said Jivan, Dharamvir and Dalip have already been arrested in the case.

In his complaint, Shinder stated that his uncle Nirmal Singh Bhangoo – who was lodged in Tihar Jail and later in Bathinda Jail – met Kotbhai, who spoke of his links in the government. According to Shinder, Kotbhai told Bhangoo that he had several cases of chit funds pending against himself, but had managed to get bail in all of them.

He also promised to free Bhangoo from all his cases and also to get him bailed out if he paid Rs 5 crore. Bhangoo later agreed to pay Kotbhai Rs 3.5 crore as advance.

Thereafter, Bhangoo discussed the matter with Shinder, who managed to borrow Rs 3.5 crore from one Girdhari Lal on interest, who further made demand drafts (DDs) and transferred the money to different firms as instructed by Kotbhai between July and September, 2020, the complaint said. Shinder later found out that all the firms to which the money had been transferred as per Kotbhai’s instructions were fake.