NEW DELHI: The CBI Saturday conducted searches at three Sangrur-located properties of Punjab AAP MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra in a bank fraud case of over Rs 40 crore, officials said.
During the searches, conducted after an FIR was filed in the Rs 40.92-crore alleged loan fraud in Bank of India, the CBI is understood to have recovered 94 blank cheques carrying signatures of different persons, with enclosed Aadhar cards, sources claimed.
CBI Spokesperson RC Joshi said, "Cash worth Rs 16.57 lakh (approx), around 88 foreign currency notes, some property documents, several bank accounts and other incriminating documents were found and recovered during searches."
Officials said the CBI has registered the case on a complaint form Bank of India, Ludhiana, against Singh, Tara Corporation Ltd (renamed as Malaudh Agro Ltd.) based at Gaunspura, Tehsil- Malerkotla (Punjab), and others.
Singh, the Amargarh MLA, was a Director and Guarantor in the company, they said.
Singh's brothers Balwant Singh and Kulwant Singh and nephew Tejinder Singh, all directors and guarantors, have also been booked, they said.
Tara Health Foods Ltd, another company, is also named as accused in the FIR, they said.
It was alleged the firm based at Gaunspura, Malerkotla, was engaged in trading of DOC Rice Bran, DOC Mustard Cake, Cottonseed Cake, Maize, Bajra and other food grains.
"The borrower firm was sanctioned loans at 4 intervals from 2011-2014 by the Bank. It was further alleged that the firm through its Directors had concealed hypothecated stock and diverted book debts with malafide & dishonest intention so that the same were not made available to the creditor Bank for inspection and for effecting recovery as secured creditor. An alleged loss of Rs.40.92 Crore(approx) was caused to Bank," Joshi said.
The bank had declared the account as NPA on March 31, 2014 and later fraud on February 09, 2018 with an outstanding amount of Rs.40.92 Crore(approx).
"It was also alleged that the loan availed by the accused has not been used for the purpose for which it was availed," the CBI spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the AAP on Saturday accused the BJP and its governments of protecting its "goon" who incited riots in Punjab, a day after Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga was brought back to the capital after a high-voltage drama that drew in the police of three states and triggered a political slugfest.
The Delhi BJP leader was arrested by Punjab Police from his home here, stopped in Haryana while being taken to Punjab and brought back to the national capital by Delhi Police hours later.
The BJP has accused Punjab Police of "abducting" its leader, who has been vocal in his criticism of Arvind Kejriwal, and accused the AAP chief of pursuing vendetta through the state police.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), however, has rejected the charge and said the Bagga was arrested for allegedly stoking communal tensions in Punjab.
The Delhi Police has registered a case of kidnapping based on a complaint by Bagga's father Preetpal Singh.
A day after, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted in Hindi, "The entire BJP and its governments are engaged in saving one of their goons who spoke against the brotherhood in Punjab and incited riots."
"The BJP is a party of goons which makes even its government do the job of goons. Never even by mistake, these people talk about education, health, inflation and unemployment," he alleged.
The Delhi Police on Saturday said it will make necessary security arrangements for Bagga after the BJP leader expressed fear about his safety.
"Bagga expressed apprehension over his safety and security. We will do necessary security arrangements," a senior officer said.
The AAP had on Friday had claimed that Bagga was arrested from Delhi by the Punjab Police for trying to stoke communal tension and violence in the border state and rejected the BJP's charge of vendetta.
Though AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj referred to the clashes in Patiala on April 29, the Punjab Police had said it arrested the Delhi BJP leader from his residence in the capital in connection with a case registered in Mohali on April 1.
The April 1 FIR referred to Bagga's remarks on March 30, when he was part of a BJP youth wing protest outside the Delhi chief minister's residence.
The April 1 FIR was registered under relevant IPC sections, including 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place, etc.), 505 (whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Bagga had come under fire from the AAP, which is ruling both in Delhi and Punjab, for his tweet against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over 'The Kashmir Files' movie.