Rs 6000 Cr ponzi scam: Congress demands SC monitored CBI probe against Gujarat BJP leader

New Delhi: Congress demanded a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into the Rs 6000 crore ‘ponzi’ scandal allegedly by Gujarat BJP leader Bhupendra Jhala.

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, senior Congress leader and Gujarat PCC president Shaktisinh Gohil disclosed that Jhala used his BJP connections to lure unsuspecting poor and middle-class people, farmers and pensioners to invest in his “ponzi scheme” promising to double their money within two years.

Gohil showed Jhala’s pictures with senior and prominent BJP leaders including the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He said these pictures and photographs were enough to win the trust of unsuspecting people who invested in his company in the hope of doubling their money within two years.

The Gujarat PCC president also showed a copy of an invitation card of a function organized by Jhala where senior BJP leaders, including many ministers, MPs, and MLAs, were mentioned. He said a Union Minister and two Gujarat Ministers were the Chief Guests at this function.

Gohil said that the mastermind of the Rs 6000 scam was now absconding and police have not been able to trace him so far. He demanded that the matter must be investigated by the CBI under the supervision of a Supreme Court sitting judge.

He also referred to earlier incidents where prominent BJP leaders were involved in shady deals including the NEET paper leak scandal, in which it was found that a BJP leader who runs a school in Gujarat was the mastermind. He said a DSP of the Gujarat Police had mentioned this in an affidavit.

He added that in the Surat drug haul case, the main supplier and kingpin turned out to be a BJP leader.

He observed that the BJP owed an explanation to the people as to why the thieves and fraudsters were turning out to be its leaders and members and why the party was protecting and patronizing them.

He said the BJP should answer as to how this con man named Bhupendra Jhala had easy access to senior party leaders like Amit Shah with whom he even got himself photographed.

Gohil said in Gujarat, there is a practice that if the Chief Minister or a Minister has to go to a public function, the intelligence department does an advance investigation to check the credentials of the organizer. He asked whether the Gujarat CID did not alert those leaders who attended Jhala’s functions and provided him credibility, which he misused and duped thousands of people of their hard-earned money.