Panipat man held for Rs 40 cr fraud

A team of the Economic Offences Wing, Yamunanagar, has arrested a man in connection with a fraud of Rs 40 crore allegedly committed with farmers in the name of making earthworm compost.

The accused has been identified as Rakesh Sharma of Panipat.

He was today produced before a court in Jagadhri which sent him to three days police custody.

Chamkaur Singh, a police spokesperson, said a team of the Economic Offences Wing had arrested Rakesh Sharma from Agra on May 23. He said that he had cheated about 6,000 farmers of Yamunanagar and other districts of the state of about Rs 40 crore in the name of making earthworm compost.

Additional SP Srishti Gupta said that Rakesh, along with his associates, had formed a firm in the name of Agro Nature Farmings and opened his office in Sector-17 of Jagadhri (Yamunanagar).

“Rakesh, along with his associates, used to make written agreements with farmers to make earthworm compost. He also used to make them invest lakhs of rupees in his firm,” said Additional SP Srishti Gupta.

She said that the farmers were lured by telling them that the firm would give Rs 1,000 per month for one bed (a pile of compost) of earthworm compost and would also take care of it. “Most of the farmers have invested Rs 2.5 lakh each. In return, they were to get Rs 25,000 every month. But this was a trick,” said Srishti Gupta.

She said that earlier this month, accused Rakesh Sharma and his associates absconded.

She said on the basis of the investigation report of the Economic Offences Wing, a case was registered at police station, sector-17, Jagadhri, in connection with this fraud.

She added that Inspector Kewal Singh, Incharge of Economic Offences Wing, and his team comprising Sub-Inspector Pawan Kumar, Head Constable Pravesh Kumar and constable Praveen Kumar arrested the accused from Agra with the help of Agra police.