more-in Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has assured Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan all possible steps to bring to book those responsible for the alleged Nirmal chit fund scam. The assurance was made when Mr. Vijayan called on Mr. Palaniswami at his office in Chennai on Thursday. Mr. Palaniswami informed his Kerala counterpart that necessary directions would be issued to the police to intensify the ongoing probe in the case. Although the company is based in the Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, a majority of its depositors are from Kerala who reside in areas close to the inter-State border. Among them are many who aimed at getting marginal profits for their children’s marriage, study, health care, and house construction, among other purposes. More than 20,000 investors have been defrauded large sums, amounting to around ?2,000 crore, Mr. Vijayan was quoted as saying, according to an official statement. With the company being located within the jurisdictions of the Tamil Nadu Police, there were limitations for the Kerala Police. Hence, a joint probe should be undertaken into the case. The documents and evidence that have been collected by the Kerala Police must also be utilised for the investigation, Mr. Vijayan said. He also expressed optimism that the Kerala Police were capable of effectively aiding the efforts of the Tamil Nadu Police in the case. He called for coordinating at the government-level further steps to be adopted by the police forces. Crime Branch probe Meanwhile, the Crime Branch team which has been probing the issue has concluded its preliminary investigation and submitted its report. According to official sources, the grievances of many depositors, who represent various cross-sections of the society, were recorded and the copies of various documents, including passbooks were collected as part of the exercise. Officials have also stressed the need for constituting a joint task force to probe the case. The Kerala Police are yet to register an FIR as the place of occurrence is outside its jurisdiction. Besides, they also cite the instance of the Supreme Court quashing down separate FIRs that had been filed in a single case.

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