Scam victim hurls pamphlets in Gujarat assembly

The two-year-old case of conman Ashok Jadeja, responsible for the 'Jay Madi' scam, was dramatically brought to the notice of the state assembly on Thursday when a man, claiming to be a victim of Jadeja's fraud, hurled pamphlets from the visitors' gallery. The man, Balawant Chandu Rathod, who shouted that the scam probe be given to the CBI, was quickly ordered to be taken out by the speaker.

Later, when the sergeants took him to the office of the sergeant-at-arms and made inquiries about him in detail, Rathod said that he was a resident of Krishnanagar area in Naroda and claimed to be the president of the All India Human Rights Federation.

An official in the sergeant-at-arms office said, "After questioning, it was found that he belongs to the Chhara community and had lost around Rs8 lakh in the scam. He will be detained for a day and will be released after the proceedings of the assembly for the day are over."

Incidentally, Rathod was among the first people who had protested against the conman and had even gone on a fast to get justice. In his pamphlet, he claimed that only Rs32 crore of the Rs550 crore fraud has been recovered by the police. He also said that there are victims of the scam in 11 states of the country and that the total amount of the swindle may well touch Rs10,000 crores.