Coimbatore: Five agents who functioned as intermediaries for a group of 22 coconut farmers in Gomangalam near Pollachi have been arrested for duping farmers to the tune of Rs.1.46 crores.
Coimbatore: Five agents who functioned as intermediaries for a group of 22 coconut farmers in Gomangalam near Pollachi have been arrested for duping farmers to the tune of Rs.1.46 crores.
The agents who bought 12 loads of coconuts with each load consisting of 16 tonnes worth Rs. 3.68 crores after promising to market the goods in Hyderabad, reportedly paid up only Rs. 2.22 crores with the remaining Rs 1.core pending for a long time.
Premanand, one of the affected farmers filed a formal complaint with the District Crime Branch Police. With no action taken for more than a year, the agitated farmers approached the Madras High Court. After hearing the petition, the High Court ordered the Coimbatore District Superintendent of Police to monitor the investigation by the District Crime Branch and ensure the copra coconuts are seized, apart from arresting the fraudsters.
Following this, the police arrested the five agents, Sivakumar, Radhakrishnan, Manojkumar, Sakthivadivel and Venugopal from Negamam, Chettipudur. It is to be noted that the main accused involved in the case, intermediary Narayanasamy, had been arrested last September too.