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Kadaknath chicken firm Maharayat Agro comes under fire in Sangli, Kolhapur
PUNE: Maharayat Agro India Private Limited company which supplies the Kadaknath chicken has come under fire from Sangli, Kolhapur and Satara police in the past week.
PUNE: Maharayat Agro India Private Limited company which supplies the Kadaknath chicken has come under fire from Sangli, Kolhapur and Satara police in the past week. A case of cheating was registered against the company owners, officials and its sister concern companies at Sangli as well as Kolhapur.
In Sangli alone, the police have received 600 complaints, according to Krishnath Pingale, deputy superintendent of police, Economic Offence Wing (EOW), Sangli. Similar cases were registered in Kolhapur and Satara district as well. The EOW of the respective district police are investigating the cases.
Hanmant Jagdale, director of Maharayat Agro India Pvt Ltd and Sandeep Mohite, brother of the company’s director Sudhir Mohite were arrested by Sangli police on September 1 in connection with investigations into allegations of cheating lodged by more than 600 farmers from Sangli district alone.
“We have arrested two people - Sandeep Mohite and Hanmant Jagdale. Sandeep Mohite will be in police custody till tomorrow (Wednesday) and Hanmant Jagdale will be in police custody till September 9,” said police inspector Narayan Deshmukh of Islampur police station of Sangli police who conducted initial investigation in the case.
“The case has now been transferred to the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) but we are still recieving complaints. We are accepting and forwarding all complaints to EOW,” he added.
The company supplied farmers with birds that provide Kadaknath chicken, known for its black colour, which is sold in the market at a higher price than normal chicken. The almost three times higher price of the meat is justified by the sellers with a promise of higher protein content.
The company promised double returns on investment through various schemes that involved rearing of Kadaknath chickens sold in units each comprising of 200 or 300 chickens. It also promised medical and fodder support for these chickens while also promising to buy the eggs laid by the hens which formed the major portion of the units. Even as investors were paid promised returns in the initial year, the company stopped purchasing the eggs and providing support for rearing.
A case under Sections 420 (punishment for cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code along with Section 4 of Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, 1999 was registered at Islampur police station against the Mohite brothers and multiple office bearers of the company.
“There were multiple schemes that they had launched. They systematically built a brand that roped people through TV interviews, YouTube, and word of mouth. We had a farmer from Kagal who sold land and gold to invest Rs 17 lakh in this scheme, another one said he invested Rs 27 lakh. There are some 20-25 policemen who have taken loans and invested in it. There are 15 branches of this company all over Maharashtra and most are in and around Sangli,” said DySP Pingale.
“We have around 600 investors who have come to us with complaints so far,” he added.
Besides the Mohite brothers and Jagdale, the other accused include Wasim Ibuse, Harshad Shankar Patil, Pritam Ramesh Mane, Jitendra Ramchandra Patil, Murgesh Kadam and a woman identified only as Damame.
“For the past two years, the company has been successfully carrying out the Kadaknath chicken rearing scheme. The company has been facing a major problem in the recent past. But the farmers need not worry as we have made arrangements with sister companies to buy birds and eggs from them,” said Sudhir Mohite while speaking to a news channel in the past week.
