Demanding the transfer of investigations in the infamous foodgrains scam to Crime Branch and confiscation of the property of absconding businessman who played fraud with the poor farmers, a huge protest demonstration led by Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP and Mr. Yash Paul Kundal, State President Young Panthers was held today outside the office of Divisional Commissioner, Jammu. The protestors including women, Children and youth took out a procession from Panama Chowk in the morning raising slogans against the govt, the investigating agencies and the administration and marched towards the office of Divisional Commissioner where a massive dharna was held. Hundreds of farmers from R.S Pura, Suchetgarh, Akhnoor, Bishnah, Ramgarh participated in the dharna shouting slogans of “Kissano ko lootney walon ko giraftaar karo, giraftaar karo”, “Bhagode businessman ki property zabt karo, zabt karo”, “Fraud case ko Crime Branch ke Havale karo, Havale karo” etc.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh said that the poor farmers of R.S Pura, Suchetgarh, Ramgarh, Bishnah and Akhnoor had been robbed of their produce by a well knit mafia which needed to be busted at the earliest. He said that despite the continued protests of the aggrieved farmers for tracing the absconding businessman, no action had been taken by the administration. He said that farmers claimed to have been robbed of their foodgrains worth tens of crores but the police administration had failed to apprehend the culprits. He said that not only was the case required to be handed over to Crime Branch as desired by the aggrieved farmers but the culprits needed to be declared as proclaimed offenders. He called for confiscation and seizure of the property of the fraudsters and its disposal so as to satisfy the claims of agitating farmers.
- Harbhajan Singh and Sh. Paramjit representatives of the aggrieved farmers revealed in their memorandum to Divisional Commissioner that “the said offenders have been running their firms under the name and style of M/S Ashoka Traders International Cattle Feed through proprietor Sonu Gupta S/o Niranjan Dass Gupta and M/S Rakesh Rice Mill, Pindi Sarochan Tehsil R.S Pura, District Jammu. The said firms collected Paddy and wheat from hundreds of farmers on the assurance that they would be paid remunerative prices for their produce. The farmers were lured by the said firms operating their business through Sonu Gupta, Shashi Gupta S/o Niranjan Dass Gupta and Gourav Gupta S/o Puran Chand all residents of R.S Pura, District Jammu, to deposit their Paddy and wheat during 2018-19 and 2019-20 on the promise that they would be appropriately compensated at rates higher than those prevailing in the local market.
Relying on the promise of the said businessman, the farmers of various villages of the aforesaid Tehsils deposited their produce with them only to discover at a later stage that they had been cheated. The said businessmen had not only failed to pay the price of the foodgrains but the main accused had absconded and their whereabouts were not known. It is being reported that these offenders have planned to leave the country as well which needs due attention of authorities concerned”.
“Mr. Rattan Lal Choudhary said that several complaints were registered against the said fraudsters for robbing the poor, indigent farmers but of no avail. An FIR was registered under sec 420 IPC by the R.S Pura police and some of the accused enlarged on bail without interrogating them or holding a serious investigation in view of the offenders enjoying patronage of the local administration in view of their muscle and money power. The result is that the culprits have collected foodgrains worth hundreds of crores from the farmers of said Tehsils and the local Police has utterly failed to bust the scam of such huge magnitude for reasons best known. The non seriousness of the local administration has sparked massive outrage in the affected villages with the result that the farmers are forced to come out on the streets in Jammu to seek a fair probe through Crime Branch into the whole gamut of fraud.”
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included S. Harbhajan Singh, Joginder Singh, Sham Gorkha, S. Gurmeet Singh, Tirath Singh, Ch. Rattan Lal, S. Hazara Singh, S. Harbhajan Singh, S. Parmjeet Singh, Capt. Mehar Singh, S. Balkaar Singh, S. Lakhbir Singh, Hans Raj Khour, Tarseem Lal, Noor Mahi, S. Jasbir Singh, Yash Paul Singh, Joginder Singh, Gagan Partap Singh, Surinder Chouhan, Nirmal Kishore, Rash Paul Singh, Gurdeep Singh, S. Amandeep Singh, S. Pawandeep Singh besides others.