Tricksters Bleed Farmers Dry, Defraud Rs 10 Crore
GUWAHATI: This is yet another instance of ‘making a quick buck’ by tricksters who have bled hardworking farmers dry by squeezing at least Rs 10 crore from them through unscrupulous means.
Three tricksters – Rahul Amin, Ranjan Pegu and Himani Basumatary – ganged up and floated the Assam Vegetables Growers’ Cooperative Society Ltd (AVGCSL). In the name of this cooperative society at least Rs 10 crore was collected from different farmers through alluring tactics. The cooperative society promised poor farmers of 90 per cent subsidized grants for purchasing tractors, getting established with fishery, piggery, poultry, dairy etc. The alluring percentage of subsidies led poor farmers invest their hard-earned money in the cooperative society so as to get themselves established with dividend-paying farming business.
The cooperative society has Rahul Amin as the CEO, Ranjan Pegu as the vice chairman and Himani Basumatary as a collector. She used to collect cash directly from farmers. While Rahul hails from Lakhipur in Goalpara district, Ranjan is from Lakhimpur district and Himani is from Baksa district.
The BIEO (Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offence) received over forty complaints from various farmers who had deposited their hard-earned money in the cooperative society. Based on the complaints, the BIRO registered a case (11/19 u/s 120(B)/420/406/468/471 of IPC) to this effect on July 4, 2019.
In the meantime, based on a complaint filed by a deceived farmer, Kamalpur police in Rangiya arrested Rahul Amin recently. Availing that chance, the BIEO prayed before the court leading to the arrest of Rahul Amin from the Kamalpur police on Saturday.
On the other hand, acting on a tip-off BIEO sleuths arrested Ranjan Pegu and Himani Basumatary from Guwahati on Saturday. All the three have been remanded to nine-day BIEO custody.