The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to examine all 76 First Information Reports lodged against Pearl Agrotech Corporation Limited in connection with a Rs 45,000-crore land development scam. The company is owned by Nirmal Singh Bhangoo (pictured above), who has been in Tihar Jail since February 23, The Times of India reported.

The accused had moved court seeking its directive to compile all the cases registered across states, citing that officials were being repeatedly taken into custody for questioning by the police probing the different complaints in various states. “It would be better if the FIRs are amalgamated and its probe entrusted to one agency,” his lawyer said.

The CBI said they were probing the complaints filed in Delhi alone. “Cases lodged by state police relate to cases of cheating committed by the group and its officials in those places. It would be a Herculean task for the CBI, in terms of both manpower and infrastructure, to take up investigations into all 76 cases,” CBI counsel R Balasubramaniam said.

The bench of justices AR Dave and AM Khanwilkar said the court, in an earlier order, had directed the agency to investigate the alleged fraud committed by the Pearl group. “We are not suggesting amalgamation of the cases. Let the CBI examine all 76 FIRs and give us a report by January 10 stating whether it would be possible for the agency to investigate all these cases,” the apex court said.

Bhangoo’s company had raised money from 5.5 crore investors across the country with the promise that they would be allotted agricultural plots within 270 days. They were told that they would receive attractive returns if they did not get their land within the stipulated time. However, the company never owned any land, and the investors filed complaints after they realised that they had been duped.