₹ 2.75 Cr rice fraud busted in APMC Market

The money they made from the fraud, estimated to be ₹2.75 crore, was invested in cricket betting, said a police officer.

NAVI MUMBAI: The police on Friday booked seven middlemen from the APMC market for allegedly stealing large quantities of rice that was being transported from a supplier and selling it in the black market at a lower price. The money they made from the fraud, estimated to be ₹2.75 crore, was invested in cricket betting, said a police officer.

₹ 2.75 Cr rice fraud busted in APMC Market

The complaint was filed by Jeevan Bhayyaji Kotamwar, 56, manager at Shri Venkateshwara Corporation, a wholesale supplier of rice from Chandrapur. According to the complaint, Shri Venkateshwara Corporation had a tie-up with Dalal Nandu Traders from the APMC market. Manager of Dalal Nandu Traders, Jignesh Ramesh Gajara, was responsible for collecting rice from the supplier in Chandrapur and transporting it to the APMC market in Thane, the police said.

The investigation has revealed that from June 2024 to June 2025, Gajara allegedly colluded with other traders of the APMC market, namely Vipul Dama, Deep Gori, Chetan Bhadra, Naresh, Mohit Bhadra, Harsh, and other unidentified persons to commit the fraud. “Instead of delivering the stock to designated traders, they diverted truckloads of rice, sold the rice to buyers outside the market at lower rates, generated fake bills under the name of a fictitious company, and forged GST numbers to make the transactions appear legitimate,” informed the investigating officer.

“The revenue earned was never deposited with the supplier. Instead, the accused is alleged to have used the profits to place large bets during various cricket matches,” said the officer investigating.

After the accused kept delaying the payments for the rice, Kotamwar suspected foul play and approached the police. Based on his complaint, a case has been registered under Sections 316(5) (criminal breach of trust), 318(4) (cheating), 336(2) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security), 340(2) (using forged documents as genuine), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).