Rice mill owner, family booked for Rs 13-cr fraud

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 19

The Amritsar (rural) police have booked a rice mill owner (Bala Pari India Basmati Rice Mill) along with his son and daughter-in-law for allegedly defrauding as many as 28 commission agents (arhtiyas) to the tune of Rs13.45 crore.

The accused have been identified as Ashok Sachdeva, his son Tushar Sachdeva, daughter-in-law Ridhi Sachdeva, all residents of Kitchlew Chowk, and Mandeepakpal Singh of Dalam village.

The case was registered following a preliminary probe in the complaint submitted in September 2019.

Jaspal Sharma, a commission agent and resident of Ajnala, said the matter pertains to year 2014-15. He said Tushar, who was one of the partners, procured Basmati worth Rs1.52 crore from him. He said he paid back only Rs7 lakh of the total amount. Similarly, the rice mill owners procured Basmati worth Rs99 lakh from Satinderpal Singh, another commissioner agent.

Sharma said the rice mill owner duped as many as 28 commission agents in a similar fashion who had jointly filed a complaint in this regard. All commission agents work at Harsha Chhina grain market.

Sharma said later, Ashok became a guarantor and issued cheques to the commission agents and promised that they could encash the same by March 2017, else he would sell his property (9 acres) located on Tarn Taran Road to them and did an agreement (Bayana) in this connection.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Agyapal Singh, Investigating Officer, said efforts were on to nab the suspects while further investigations were underway. A case under Sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 120-B (conspiracy) of the India Penal Code has been registered against them while no arrest has been made to date.

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