Donkey Palace franchise members demand justice after losing Rs 100 core
Hyderabad: Franchise members of ‘Donkey Palace’ expressed apprehensions of a large-scale scam involving the sale of donkey milk in the two Telugu states, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Each victim, including farmers, who invested in the franchise, suffered an approximate loss of Rs 40 lakh, they said, and claimed here on Friday that the scam was to the tune of Rs 100 crore.
The business is allegedly run by one Babu Ulaganathan from Tamil Nadu. The organisers promised huge profits through the scheme and advertised for franchises. The customers ended up purportedly paying large sums for donkeys and to set up facilities. Each donkey was sold for Rs 80,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh, along with a contract stating that farmers would be paid Rs 1,800 per litre of milk that is supplied.
A victim, Sai Babu from Bengaluru, said that they were made to believe in the profits that await them. “We, a group of friends invested approximately Rs 60 lakh in the franchise. Though we are literate enough to differentiate certain things, we assumed that this would be a sound proposition since it was Covid time and healthy donkey milk could be an effective option. But we all were deceived,” he said.
However, a couple of victims from Karnataka approached Hyderabad CCS only to face disappointment after a woman IPS officer asked them to register the case in local police stations.
This scheme was widely advertised online, irrespective of platforms, by one Sonika Reddy, who helped promote the business, and franchise operators, including Giri Sundar and Balaji.
The victims stated that they were even provided brief training against a fee of Rs 50,000. Farmers were also initially promised profits, but once they invested in donkeys and started supplying milk, payments were stopped.
A victim from Guntur said, “I came across an ad on YouTube and shared the idea with my father. I took loan from various family members. After I paid them, they kept delaying deliveries. They came up with excuses like they were manufacturing milk powder in Bengaluru and exporting it. I realised that I was conned. I paid Rs 43 lakh for the donkeys and Rs 13 lakh for facilities, rent, grass and lease.”
Victims are appealing to the governments of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to take up the case and provide them justice and help them get their money back.