Probe Union minister Shekhawat in Sanjivani scam, orders Jaipur court

JAIPUR: Union water resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who is facing a Special Operations Group (SOG) probe on charges of trying to topple the Congress government in Rajasthan by horse trading, is in for more trouble.
A court in Jaipur has directed the SOG to investigate the role of the minister, wife and his associates in the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam in Jodhpur amounting to Rs 884 crore. The additional district and sessions court order followed a petition by Ladu Singh and Guman Singh, both residents of Barmer, who had invested Rs 54 lakh and 24 lakh respectively in the scheme of the society but failed to get their money back.
A K Jain, counsel for the petitioners, said the SOG had been investigating the case after filing an FIR (No. 32/2019) on August 23, 2019. Preliminary investigation found that around 50,000 investors were duped of around Rs 884 crore.
Four of the accused in the case were arrested including kingpin Vikram Singh. The petitioners said neither their role in the scam was investigated nor property seized.
According to the petitioners, Shekhawat, his wife Naunand Kanwar and their associates Rajendra Baheti and Kevalchand Dakliya had diverted the society money into their real estate and other companies promoted by them namely Surya Bhoomi Build Infra Pvt Ltd, Lucid Pharma Pvt Ltd and Nav Prabha Buildtech Pvt Ltd etc. Some property was purchased in foreign countries like Ethiopia.
The petitioners’ application in the magistrate court seeking to make the minister and his associates role in the fraud was rejected on July 13 on the ground that they have no locus standi as they were neither petitioners nor respondents though their names figures in the list of duped investors.
Jain argued that the petitioners were victims of the fraud and the magistrate court decision is illegal as investigation in the case is still going on in the case under 173(8) of IPC.