Cheating complaint against magician, son

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 9

A complaint of cheating and criminal conspiracy along with contempt of court has been moved against magician Samrat Shankar and his son by an NRI.

Canada-based Kulbir Singh Pannu has already filed a complaint in a cheque bounce case against the duo. They have been issued a notice to reply by April 12 by the court.

Pannu (64) has alleged that in September 2010, he met Navneet Singh, who requested Pannu to grant a loan of Rs 5 lakh to Shankar’s son, Vishal Modi, which will be returned with 2 per cent interest. Later, Pannu also gave him another Rs 1.5 lakh.

Navneet Singh had also assured Pannu that Modi will transfer a plot as a guarantee for the loan. Pannu went to Canada and returned after five months and contacted Singh and Modi for paying his amount back who sought three months’ time. Even after that, Modi kept on making excuses and delaying the payment.

Finally on April 20, 2015, Pannu contacted Smarat Shankar who assured that he will ask his son to return the payment to him and he shall not make any police complaint against them. But even then Pannu did not receive the amount and he issued a notice to Shankar and his son, who did not reply. Pannu then gave a formal complaint against them to the SSP Chandigarh in October 2015 on public window, but no action was taken. Now, he has filed a recovery suit in the District Courts.

Pannu’s counsel informed that a compromise was made in the matter at the District Courts, Chandigarh, after Pannu had moved a recovery suit of Rs 6.50 lakh along with interest rate of 18 per cent per annum against Shankar and his son Modi, in 2015. After two years, in December 2017, the matter entered into a compromise at the court, with Rs 3.50 lakh to be given to Pannu by Shankar and Modi. A cheque was given to Pannu for the amount in December 2017. But when Pannu presented the cheque in the bank, he received a memo stating “insufficient funds”.

After the recovery suit was finalised in the court with a compromise, Shankar and Modi had stated in the court that their cheque will not be dishonoured again but since Pannu is yet to get the amount, we have moved a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, as it is contempt of court.