THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday promised urgent action in the Nirmal Krishna Chit Fund scam.
At a meeting with his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan in Chennai, Palaniswami said he would issue necessary instructions to TN police to cooperate with the Kerala Police in the investigation.
Cops from Kerala and TN will conduct a coordinated probe into the fraud. At the meeting, Pinarayi said the chit company was in Kanyakumari, along the state border. Hence, several people from Kerala’s border villages had invested in it, he said.
Thousands of people had made small deposits in the chit fund for personal and family requirements like education and marriage of children, treatment-related expenses and house construction. There were complaints Nirmal Krishna received approximately Rs 2000 crore worth of investment from around 20,000 investors.
“Since the fraud was committed in TN’s Kanyakumari district, the Kerala Police have certain limitations in investigation. There is a need for a coordinated investigation by police forces from both states in the cases registered in Kanyakumari. The evidence and documents collected by the Kerala Police can be effectively utilised for investigation in those cases,” Pinarayi said.
“The Kerala Police can assist the investigation team from TN,” he said. He also suggested government-level coordination should be ensured between top police officers from both the states.
Palaniswami said he will consider all the recommendations and demands and assured he will issue necessary directives to the cops.
The finance firm which functioned in Palukal in Tamil Nadu, close to Kerala border, had allegedly duped over 13,600 investors from Kerala and Tamil Nadu who had deposited money under various investment schemes on the promise of good returns. The Kerala Police have constituted a special investigation team to probe the fraud. The team has been communicating with the TN Economic Offences wing.
On Wednesday, nearly 1,000 investors allegedly duped by the company blocked the NH at Parassala alleging police apathy in registering an FIR against the firm.
Inter-state water dispute:
Kerala and Tamil Nadu have decided to hold Chief Secretary-level talks to resolve issues related to inter-state waters and maintain a healthy relationship between the two states. If needed, Chief Minister-level discussions will be held on the issue later.
Pinarayi Vijayan raised the issue of inter-state river disputes over water sharing between the two states at his meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami.