Rediff

Jaipur, Feb 16: In more trouble for Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi, a case of cheating was on Sunday lodged against him for alleged failure to deposit money he publicly promised for the Jaipur blast victims in the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

The FIR has been lodged by the state convener of Nagrik Morcha Pandit Suresh Mishra at the Jyoti Nagar police station in Jaipur under Sections 420 (cheating) and 467 (forgery of valuable security or will) IPC, Police Station incharge Lakhan Singh said.

"The FIR has been lodged in connection with a cheque Modi had given to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for the welfare of Jaipur bomb blast victims," Lakhan Singh said.

"We shall look into the matter and examine the facts," he said. Mishra, in his complaint, alleged that during the first edition of the IPL, Modi had announced that Rs six crore would be deposited in the Chief Minister's relief fund for victims of the blasts that rocked the pink city on May 13 last year.

"After the match between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians on May 17 at SMS stadium Jaipur, Lalit Modi had presented a cheque of Rs six crore to then CM Vasundhara Raje but in reality the entire amount was never deposited," he alleged.

He also claimed this was a ploy to let the match go on since the Morcha had demanded that it be either cancelled or be held for charity.

"Obviously it was a ploy to hold the match because we had demanded that either the match be cancelled or should be declared as a charity match for the blast victims. Months later some cheques were deposited through various companies which were sponsors of IPL. But this amount was found to be only of around Rs four crore. What happened to rest of the amount?" he asked.

"We demand a probe for this missing Rs two crore. The act of raising money by fooling the public is a crime and we demand that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot orders a judicial inquiry into the matter," Mishra said.

Modi, who is also the President of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, is already facing charges for allegedly acquiring a piece of land in Nagaur district through unfair means.

He has been questioned by police in this regard. He is also embroiled in a power struggle in the RCA against secretary Subhash Joshi and few district associations which have put up a united front against him.