Jayshri Gayatri Food Products director attempts suicide after ED raids, names LJP leaders in note

Payal Modi, who is also a director of the company, is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhopal and is reportedly out of danger.
IMAGE USED FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
IMAGE USED FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
Updated on
3 min read

BHOPAL: A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at premises linked to Jayshri Gayatri Food Products Pvt Ltd, Payal Modi, wife of the company’s head Kishan Modi, attempted suicide by consuming poison at her residence in Bhopal on Thursday evening.

In a purported suicide note, which has gone viral on social media, she blamed individuals associated with Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), including his relatives Chandra Prakash Pandey and Ved Prakash Pandey, for her extreme step. The note also mentions life threats received by her husband from a US-based number.

Payal Modi, who is also a director of the company, is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhopal and is reportedly out of danger. She alleged that the minister’s relatives were using his influence to harass her family. Meanwhile, her husband, Kishan Modi, has also been hospitalised since the ED searches were carried out on Wednesday.

A senior Bhopal police official confirmed that the suicide note would be investigated. Attempts to contact the Union minister for a response were unsuccessful. The opposition Congress has questioned the fairness of the ED’s actions, drawing parallels with a similar incident in December 2024, when Sehore-based businessman Manoj Parmar and his wife died by suicide, allegedly due to ED pressure. Congress spokesperson Shailendra Patel demanded a probe into the latest case, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in the agency and ensure it does not solely target opposition figures and traders.

The ED had raided multiple locations linked to the company and its management in Bhopal, Sehore, and Morena as part of a money laundering probe. According to an official statement, the searches led to the discovery of 63 forged laboratory certificates used to export adulterated milk products and supply them domestically. Investigations revealed that Jayshri Gayatri Food Products had used falsified certificates, purportedly issued by BIS/NABL-recognised labs, to secure export approvals from the Export Inspection Agency (EIA) in Indore. Many of these certificates were either originally issued to other companies, forged, or fraudulently obtained.

During the searches, the ED froze movable assets, including fixed deposits worth Rs 6.26 crore in the company’s name, and seized Rs 25 lakh in cash. Luxury vehicles, including a BMW and a Toyota Fortuner, were also confiscated. Additionally, documents related to immovable assets worth over Rs 66 crore, owned by the company and Kishan Modi’s family members, were recovered along with other incriminating records.

The probe was initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, based on an FIR and chargesheet filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Bhopal. The FIR alleged that the company’s directors were engaged in the production and distribution of adulterated milk products, using forged lab certificates.

Six months ago, the EOW had conducted similar searches at the company’s premises in Madhya Pradesh over allegations of manufacturing and selling adulterated milk products. The company is accused of exporting these products to more than 20 countries, including those in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, using fake laboratory reports. The EOW has registered a case of cheating, forgery, and conspiracy to use forged documents as originals.

Sources indicate that the company has made significant payments to entities in an African nation. In 2022, the Income Tax department had also raided multiple locations linked to the company, reportedly uncovering investments from influential individuals in Bihar.

Related Stories

No stories found.

X
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com