Ex-MP Abhishek Singh moves HC, seeks quashing FIRs

RAIPUR: Former Rajnandgaon MP Abhishek Singh on Monday filed a petition in the high court pleading to quash the FIRs lodged against him in the chit-fund fraud.

The petitioner has filed six petitions seeking to quash the FIRs lodged at various police stations in Rajnandgaon district, the petitioner's cotmsel Vivek Sharma told TOI.

The bench of Justice Rajendra Chandra Singh Samant has fixed September 18 for the next hearing.

On August 22, 2019, FIRs were registered in Rajnandgaon district against former chief minister Raman Singh's son Abhishek and 19 others in connection with an alleged chit fund scam.

Former BJP MP Madhusudan Yadav and Congress leader Naresh Dakaliya have also been named as accused in addition to 17 directors and core committee members of Anmol India Company. The FIRs were registered at police stations on the directive of a local court. Nobody has been arrested so far. Two cases were registered at Khairagarh police station and one each at Chikhli police outpost, Ambagarh Chowki police station, La lbagh police station and City Kotwali police station.

As per the FIRs, Abhishek Singh. Yadav and Dakaliya, were allegedly involved with the publicity promotion of the company which wooed investors across the state before shutting shop in 2016.

The investors from Rajnandgaon had then filed petitions before a local court, alleging that the company duped them of lakhs of rupees by promising high returns. The court directed that FIRs be registered against accused and the matter be investigated.

As per the two FIRs lodged in Khairagarh police station, Sriram Verma and Shiv Kumar Sahu alleged that the company embezzled Rs 1.18 lakh and 1.12 lakh which they had deposited. The company had promised to double their money within a few months but investors did not get any returns.

Earlier, four cases had been registered against Singh, Yadav and 18 others in Surguja district in the same matter. After a similar case was lodged against Singh in Ambikapur, he approached Chhattisgarh high court seeking to quash the FIR .

The high court stayed the investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act but allowed it under other Acts.

Singh then moved the Supreme Court which ordered the state government not to take coercive steps against him in the case registered at Ambikapur.