Margadarsi is a scam, IT and ED to probe frauds: CID

VIJAYAWADA: Additional DG of AP-CID N. Sanjay said that more than 800 people were cheated by Margadarsi Chits and 40 per cent chit groups of Margadarsi Chit Funds pvt. ltd. (MCFPL) have no subscribers as the company takes its own chits in the name of ghost subscribers.

He said that during investigation, they had found that 3,000 people’s names were used by Margadarsi as its chit members but these people are unaware of their ‘subscriptions’.

Sanjay said that IT and ED have been informed about the scam and they have sought a comprehensive probe into all MCFPL frauds.

Addressing a press meet here on Thursday, Sanjay stated that there were many violations of chit fund rules by Margadarsi. He further said that AP-CID had found that the owner of Margadarsi is taking money in the name of ghost subscribers.

He said that the management is making threatening calls to subscribers after their names had cropped up in financial frauds. The CID has received complaints about this.

Sanjay stated that the Margadarsi associated newspapers were writing false stories about the CID investigation. He said that people should know the truth about such frauds. He said that people who paid in crores were getting returns in only thousands.

“Details are not included in the ledger even after cheques are prepared. They are harassing subscribers by threatening them and not giving them the chit amount. There are frauds in every chit group. The company itself takes money in the name of ghost subscribers. In some areas, complaints have been registered against Margadarsi in police stations and investigation is under progress,” he said.

CID SP K. Fakirappa said that threatening phone calls came from Sailaja’s PA Sasikala, including one Annapurna Devi, a chit member. He said that this is an obstruction of CID investigation.

He said “We have sent details of chits of 800 people with the highest amount of money to the Income Tax department. A builder has '50 crore chits in Margadarsi Vijayawada. Are they paying in cash or by cheques? We investigated the complaint given by Annapurna Devi. The signature of the complainant's daughter Priyanka, who was abroad, was also forged.”

Annapurna Devi who lodged a complaint against Margadarsi said that their lives were damaged due to chit frauds. She demanded stern action against Margadarsi and save thousands of innocent chit members.