Chennai: Business tycoon held for duping sugarcane farmers

Chennai: The Economic Office Wing, Cuddalore district, has arrested a 65-year old business tycoon, chairman-cum-managing director of private sugar mills in Cuddalore and Thanjavur districts, on charges of duping 1,500 sugarcane farmers of more than Rs 80 crore over the years.

Rama Thiyagarajan, CMD of Thiru Arooran Sugars Limited, at Chittur village near Vridhachalam in Cuddalore district was arrested in Chennai and taken to the coastal district for further investigation. He was allowed to go after a few hours, reportedly as he promised to pay up the arrears soon.

Besides cheating the farmers by not settling the amount for purchase of cane, the CMD also took loan on behalf of the farmers. He allegedly cheated the farmers in connivance with the bank officials and others.

The mega racket came to the fore only when bank started sending notice to the farmers of possible attachment of properties for loan default. According to sources,  policereceived a large number of complaints from the farmers that Thiru Arooran Sugars Limited, procuring sugarcane from them, had failed to settle their dues from 2016-17. More than 1500 cane farmers in Cuddalore and neighbouring district supplied the canes to the mill.

In the complaint farmers stated that the management claimed the mill made special arrangements with a nationalised bank, which will pay their dues in installments and subsequently management would repay them.

They charged that the sugar mill management got their signatures on application forms claiming that it will transfer their dues in installments to their bank accounts.

Subsequently the farmers received money in installments from the nationalised bank. However, after a few months, they received notices from the bank asking them to repay the loans that they availed from the bank.

The farmers stated that they never availed any loan from the bank and believed that the money they received in installments from the bank was a part of their settlement for selling cane to the mill.

They came to know that the mill management had availed loans in their names and transferred the loan amount in installments. The management neither repaid the loans nor settled their dues for procurement of sugarcane from 2016-17.

The farmers alleged that the CMD indulged in the racket with the help of bank officials. They questioned how could bank disburse their loans to the mill without their knowledge.