Jhunjhunwala scam hints at CA racket in Kolkata

Sikkim Express | www.sikkimexpress.com

Rajesh Jhunjhunwala - Jhunjhunwala had also flaunted a series of high quality photographs portraying him as a big businessman in order to add weight to his fake identity.

GANGTOK, August 10: Early investigations into the scam allegedly played out by Rajesh Jhunjhunwala to bag the Khangchendzonga Tourist Villa-cum-socio cultural & amusement park are pointing fingers to a racket operated by some chartered accountants in Kolkata who issues fake deposit receipts, income tax declarations and bank documents.

And the 42-year-old conman is also claiming to the investigating agency that he had been busted just because he could not grease the palms of some officials in the Rural Management & Development department to get the park on a lease.
Readers are aware that an individual going with the name of Jhunjhunwala had been placed in the custody of Crime Branch of Sikkim Police on August 9 by the Sikkim Vigilance Police after a complaint was lodged by the RMD department. His purported company had been selected by the department in the first week of July to run the Ranka amusement park on a lease for 21 years.

However, the lease agreement had yet to be signed, the RMD has maintained.
A joint secretary of the department had complained to the police that the accused had submitted fixed deposit receipt of Rs. 25 lakhs and temporary deposit receipt of Rs. 1.25 crores issued by banks in Kolkata as security amount for the lease. These receipts turned out to be fake ones and as per the department, the bank documents of Jhunjhunwala were also not proper.

Following the complaint lodged on August 9, Jhunjhunwala was arrested and a case of cheating and forgery under sections 420/468/471 of IPC has been registered against him. Investigations are on by the Crime Branch.

The antecedents of Jhunjhunwala have been traced to New Alipore near Kolkata but whether his real name is Rajesh Jhunjhunwala and other details are yet to be confirmed.

However, the RMD officials have confirmed that the arrested person was Rajesh Jhunjhunwala and the same person who had participated in the tender process.
During the preliminary investigations, the accused is claiming that some other persons based in Kolkata working as chartered accounts are involved in the fake bank receipts, fake income-tax details and other bank documents.

If there is some credibility on these claims, the Sikkim cops would have to work with Kolkata police to bust the racket, though it is too early to comment, sources said adding that investigations and questioning of the accused is on.
Jhunjhunwala is also claiming to the police that some RMD officials had demanded money from him to bag the contract.

The accused has been placed in police custody for a week.

Though investigations are on by the police, it has been now established that Jhunjhunwala had taken two local entrepreneurs here including an hotelier and some youths on a ride duping them of lakhs of rupees. He had been going around posing as a big-time businessmen and developing contacts with influential people in the capital.

Jhunjhunwala had also flaunted a series of high quality photographs portraying him as a big businessman in order to add weight to his fake identity.

Meanwhile, the RMD department has assured that the Khangchendzonga Tourist Villa-cum-socio cultural & amusement park will be open for the public by October.

We will be sending a proposal to the State government to make another tender process for selecting a competent agency to run the park and we are targeting to make the park open by October, said State RMD secretary AK Ganeriwala to media.