7 booked for duping residents through ponzi schemes

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 25

The Amritsar rural police have booked seven persons for duping residents of lakhs of rupees while promising handsome returns.

Promised high investment returns

Complainant Parminder Singh alleged that the accused took over ~20 lakh on pretext of investments promising higher returns. However, he had given several lakhs in cash also. He alleged that initially the accused returned some amounts as profits but later started dilly dallying. He later told that he suffered losses and refused to return the money.

The incident came to light when Khalichian police station registered two separate FIRs in this connection following complaints of Parminder Singh of Jassowal village and Paramjit Singh of Bhorsi Rajputa village.

Though both the complaints were lodged with the police in February this year, cases were registered only yesterday after a probe by SP (investigations) who recommended registration of FIRs in the complaints.

Those booked were identified as Sarabjit Singh and his brother Gagandeep Singh, their mother Manjit Kaur, Sarabjit’s wife Jaspreet Kaur, all residents of Bhorsi Rajputa village and Satwant Kaur of Bohru who is a relative of Sarabjit Singh. Besides them, the police also booked Bobanjit Singh and Gurmej Singh of Bhorsi Rajputa village in the second FIR registered on the complaint of Paramjit Singh.

Parminder Singh alleged that the accused took over Rs 20 lakh from him which he had transferred in the bank account. But he had given several lakhs in cash also. He said initially the accused returned some amounts as profits but later started dilly dallying. He later told that he suffered losses and refused to return the money.

Similarly, Paramjit Singh also accused them of cheating him of over Rs 25 lakh.

Parminder said they were not the lone victims of the accused. There were several other people in the village who were defrauded by the suspects. While several complaints were pending with police, some of them were did not file the complaint.

“We were disappointed as the police did not register an FIR even after elapsing of five months of filing the complaint,” Parminder said.

Innocent people have been defrauded after luring them of handsome returns. The accused had made huge movable and immovable properties while one of the suspects had fled to Dubai, he alleged.

Charanjit Singh, SSP, Amritsar Rural, said the police would probe was matter till its logical conclusion. He said FIRs were registered following preliminary probe.