Chit-fund scam: Raman Singh’s son named in 27 cases

Raipur, Aug 28 (IANS) A total of 27 complaints have been lodged against former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh's son and former BJP MP from Rajnandgaon Abhishek Singh in the chit-fund scam.

While the BJP calls the complaints "politically-motivated", the state's Congress government says they have been filed on the orders of the Supreme Court.

Some 100 fly-by-night chit-fund companies are reported to have duped around 20 lakh investors in Chhattisgarh of their hard-earned savings worth Rs 1,105 crore during the previous BJP regime.

Basant Sharma, who has been fighting for the victims of the scam, says the Raman Singh government actively supported the chit-fund companies, including 60 illegal and 40 banned, in cheating the people by offering them stalls in job fairs and other state events.

Abhishek acted as the brand ambassador of these firms, which used his photographs give out ads and get business ignoring SEBI and RBI restrictions on them. The state government's support to the companies created a misimpression that they were legal or state-run.

Five FIRs were recently registered against Abhishek in Rajnandgaon taking the number of complaints lodged against him to 27 so far. However, the Supreme Court has stayed his arrest and said no coercive steps can be taken against him till further orders.

Abhishek's father Raman Singh said: "This is a unique state, where 27 cases have been registered only for getting pictures clicked. Besides photographs, there is no fact of Abhishek's involvement in the scam. All the cases are politically-motivated."

Another activist fighting the legal cases in the scam refuted the charge. "Some 41 cases have been registered in the scam in different courts across the state. There are 88 petitions pending in Rajnandgaon, 30 in Surajpur and Baikunthpur, 40 in Ambikapur and 30 in the High Court," he said.