Hours after reports emerged that he was summoned by the ED, actor Prakash Raj shared a cryptic post saying 'khela hobe' on X, formerly Twitter. 'Khela hobe, a political song, was used by Mamata Banerjee's TMC to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2021 assembly elections in West Bengal.
Prakash Raj, who is a vocal critic of the BJP, has used this expression in the past to express his opposition to the saffron party.
On Wednesday, the actor again used this expression after it was reported that the federal anti-money laundering agency had summoned him for questioning in connection with an alleged ponzi scheme case to the tune of Rs 100 crore.
The summon came just three days after the central agency carried out search operations at properties linked to a partnership firm Pranav Jewellers in Tiruchirapalli under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) provisions.
Sources told India Today that Prakash Raj's summoning was part of the broader investigation into the alleged bogus gold investment scheme coined by Pranav Jewellers. The actor has been a brand ambassador of this company and has been asked to depose before the federal agency in Chennai on December 5.
The ED raids led to the recovery of unaccounted cash worth Rs 23.70 lakh and gold jewellery weighing 11.60 kg.
The ponzi scheme, allegedly run by the entity Pranav Jewellers, has come under scrutiny based on a First Information Report (FIR) lodged by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Trichy against Pranav Jewellers and others involved in the alleged financial wrongdoing.
As per the EOW, Pranav Jewellers collected a staggering Rs 100 crore from the public on the pretext of a gold investment scheme, promising lucrative returns. However, the company allegedly failed to fulfil its commitment, leaving investors in the lurch.
(With inputs from Munish Chandra Pandey)