Chandigarh, January 3: Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Senior Leader and Leader of Opposition in Punjab Harpal Singh Cheema announced, “Properties of Pearls Pvt. Ltd. and other chit fund companies will be auctioned to return the money of their victims, who were looted in the name of investment.
Not only will the demands of these victims be included in the manifesto of AAP, but also all forms of justice will be ensured when the government is formed.” Cheema said that despite the orders of the Supreme Court, SAD (Badal), BJP, Congress and Capt. Amarinder Singh failed to make Pearls return the hard-earned money of the people.
In a statement issued from the party headquarters on Monday, Harpal Singh Cheema said that the PACL (Pearls) company which has been operating since 1983 has been working as a real estate (colonizer) company and had collected crores of rupees from the people of Punjab through investment in the name of RD and FD. He said that around 25 lakh people of Punjab had invested more than Rs. 8 crores in PACL, and with that they’ve bought 9 thousand acres of land.
Cheema alleged that the owners of Pearls Company, who made people invest crores of rupees, did not return the money of the people, as a result of which thousands of people in Punjab committed suicide and many families fell into the quagmire of financial hardship.
In the past, the victims have staged street protests and fought cases in the Supreme Court to get their money back. Cheema said the apex court had formed a committee headed by retired Justice R.M. Loda and directed them to take possession of PACL Company Limited’s assets across the country and return the proceeds from its sale to investors.
The court has also asked the state government to submit a status report on the matter on February 2, 2016, but none of the ruling party (SAD-BJP, Capt, Congress) returned a single penny.
The Leader of the Opposition said that the Badal government had taken crores of rupees from Pearls Company in the name of sponsorship during the World Kabaddi Cup. Also, in the year 2017, former Congress Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh gave protection to the owners of Pearls by promising to return the money, swindled by PACL, after the formation of his government.
Harpal Singh Cheema said that if the intentions and policies of the governments had been clear then the victims would have gotten justice a long time ago, but the governments themselves have joined hands with the thieves which is forcing the victims to fight this battle on their own.
Cheema said that with the formation of Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, the victims of scams of other chit fund companies including Pearls would be given justice on priority basis. For this, the assets of the scammers will be sold by the AAP government and the people’s money will be returned.
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