Cottongate: CBI finds many benami farmers
According to CBI sources, out of 50 farmers checked in Karimnagar, around 30 were fake.
Hyderabad: The CBI and Vigilance and Enforcement probe into the Cotton Corporation of India fraud in Telangana and Aandhra Pradesh has found that majority of the farmers exist only on paper.
According to CBI sources, out of 50 farmers checked in Karimnagar of Telangana so far, around 30 were fictitious and had been faked by commission agents and cotton traders. With fake documents in the name of non-existing farmers, the suspects sold cotton to CCI and siphoned the minimum support price.
The addresses in which CBI issued notices to record statements in the Cotton Corpor-ation of India fraud case turned out to be false.
An official said, “The traders procured cotton unofficially from farmers for a lesser price and then sold it to CCI on fictitious names. The address verification of farmers when we served notices to record statements found that they were false.”
Meanwhile the Vigilance and Enforcement report regarding MSP operations by CCI states that out of 900 farmers examined, only 181, around 20 per cent, were genuine and the rest were all “brokers”.
“CCI purchased 66,548.32 quintals from 900 ‘supposed farmers’ of which 47,903.91 quintals were from bogus farmers. It was also found that ginning mills are not maintaining inward and outward registers with regard to cotton received from CCI...” revealed the AP Vigilance report.
DC had earlier reported that the minimum support price fraud had emerged as the prime reason behind cotton farmers’ suicides in TS and AP.
Evidences collected by CBI including forged cheques, illegal bank transactions, and statements of victim farmers have revealed an unholy nexus between CCI purchase officers, TS and AP marketing yard committees and marketing department officials and moneylenders-cum-traders-turned politicians.
Investigation has revealed that these individuals have formed a “cotton mafia” and are allegedly denying farmers the MSP for cotton and have amassed huge wealth.
While the market rate is around Rs 4,000 per quintal, farmers are being forced to sell cotton to traders for Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500. Cases were booked with CBI both in AP and Telangana.