Jaggayyapet rice mill owner booked for cheating farmers of Rs 50 crore
VIJAYAWADA: Jaggayyapet police have booked a case against Pallavi Rice Mill owner Tatikonda Viswanatham (58) for allegedly cheating farmers to the tune of Rs 50 crore on Monday. Police said the accused has been avoiding paying the farmers, who sold their produce to him for the past two years. Around 50 farmers filed a complaint with Jaggayyapet police against Viswanatham for cheating. The farmers from various villages of Krishna and neighbouring districts, including Telangana, sold their paddy stock to the Pallavi Rice Mills and were yet to get their payments to the tune of Rs 5 crore.
When asked to clear the pending payments, Viswanatham reportedly gave evasive answers to the farmers. Angry, they filed a complaint against Viswanatham with Jaggayyapet police. When TNIE contacted Nandigama DSP Nageswara Reddy, he said that Vishwanatham has been taken into custody and questioned about the issue. “During interrogation, he admitted that he does owe the farmers money, but could not settle their payments now because the rice mill has remained shut for months. However, Viswanatham assured to repay them after selling the assets,” DSP Reddy said.
Viswanatham used to procure paddy stocks from more than 300 farmers through brokers operating under the name of his firm. “Payments for more than 60 per cent of the farmers are pending. We investigating the allegations that he committed irregularities to the tune of Rs 50 crore and purchased properties with the farmer payments. If proven guilty, action would be initiated against him as per law,” DSP added. A case of cheating under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC has been booked against him and Nandigama DSP G Nageswara Reddy is investigating the case.