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'658' seem to be the Aggarwals' lucky digits. Three of their cars - a Porsche Cayenne, a BMW sports utility vehicle and an Audi A6 - bear registration numbers ending with these digits. Also, 658 is about five more than the number of crores of rupees their company, Shakun Polyplasts, owes National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) investors. Shakun's name cropped up in the latest list released by the exchange last week, suggesting other than the initial list of 24 borrowers, several other entities are also involved in the deal.
In the new list, Shakun Polyplasts, with dues of Rs 653.87 crore, was the largest among the five clients of ARK Imports, the NSEL member that dealt with raw wool. The others were Genex Industries (Rs 66.3 crore), Punjab Wool Traders (Rs 36.07 crore), Karan Sales Corp (Rs 35.35 crore) and Gurudev Wools and Fibres (Rs 18.43 crore).
However, Business Standard's on-the-spot checks and enquiries at the addresses given by these entities corroborated with filings with the Registrar of Companies revealed the father-son duo of Kailash Aggarwal and Anubhav Aggarwal controlled both ARK Imports, as well as its five so-called clients. It also appeared the new names and their obscure and incomplete addresses could be a red-herring for aggrieved investors and investigative agencies.
The Aggarwals reside at a palatial house in Gurdev Nagar here. Gurdev Wools & Fibres, which probably derived the name from the tony address of its owners, was said to be located in the middle of nowhere. According to the list released by NSEL, Gurdev Wools, Punjab Wool and Karan Sales were said to be located in a 15-km-long arterial road connecting the Haibowal area to Jassian Pind. Gurdev's address was "6,515/13A Haibowal Jassian Road, Ludhiana". Punjab Wool's was 6,515/14 and that of Karan Sales was 6,515/14A.
While the addresses seem pretty simple on paper, locating these was another matter altogether. Ludhiana, one of Punjab's oldest cities, is easily the perfect opposite of its capital Chandigarh, famous for its planned development, neatly lined up buildings and logically sequenced sectors.
Initially, there was a sense of sequence on Jassian Road, as the plot numbers descended from 8,000 to 7,000 and further lower. But by the time one reached the 6,500s, the region became more rural and the sequence ceased to be geographical. Locals said the sequence there was chronological and the plot sizes, as big as two-five acres, had since been fragmented into numerous smaller plots. To get an idea of the arrangement, consider a situation in which 6,518 is at India Gate in Delhi, 6,519 at North Block and 6,520 at Rail Bhavan, with various numbers and paddy fields in between these.
As if this jigsaw puzzle wasn't enough, many locals confirmed the residents numbered their houses as they wished and got these approved from the civic authorities. And, not many put the house numbers on the doors.
Business Standard combed the area for about five hours. Locals, property dealers and even other wool business owners said in that area, plot numbers were of little help. Once they were told the names, they said they had never heard of the three companies or their owners and questioned the motives of those who gave such incomplete addresses.
Dharmvir Khannna of DD Khanna Hosieries said, "I have not heard of these three names. We don't do exports. We are not aware of NSEL and their products." Khanna, whose factory was on plot 6,518, directed us to "Karna International", an exporter making nuts and bolts. This company, Khanna said, might know about the "international" wool trade we were investigating. That, however, proved another dead end.
An elderly man at Soni Real Estate cryptically added to the puzzle, "You won't get anyone on this number. They are big people. They do not reside here."
As the sun was beating down, patience wearing thin and hope touching its nadir, help arrived. Inderjit Singh, a revenue department official with the Ludhiana municipal Corporation, was surveying the area along with a colleague. He was carrying a register showing the names and tax details of the owners. "There is no 6,515/14 or 6,515/14A in our records," he said. While 6,515/13 was in the record, it was owned by Amrit Rani, wife of Subash Kumar, who ran Sehgal Kirana store. There was no 6,515/13A.
Business Standard reviewed the register and found 6,515 was owned by a primary school - Gyan Vidya Mandir, a long two-storeyed yellow structure that resembled a double-decker school bus more than a school. S P Sharma, who ran the school, said, "I own 6,515. It's a school-cum-residence. I don't know any wool company nearby." The adjacent plot, 6,515/15, is owned by Jitendra Kumar Gupta. It had an open godown full of building material and wooden items. Next to that was a small workshop making tin boxes. One side of the school was bordered by a huge paddy field.
So much for the Rs 90 crore the three companies owed together.
Genex Industries and Shakun Polyplasts, which together owe Rs 720 crore, have provided the names of a couple of villages (Seerah and Meharban) on Rahon Road as their addresses. These are largely godowns where recent income tax surveys found insufficient wool stocks.
Neighbours in Ludhiana who saw the Aggarwal family's fortunes skyrocket in the past few years say Genex and Shakun are key group companies. Business Standard's efforts to track the directors of Shakun - Gopal Singh and Shiv Shakar Arya - proved futile.
At 2,801-B, Housing Board Colony, Dungri Road, the address provided for Gopal Singh, we came across a person named Jagdeep Singh, who ran a dance troupe and had been residing at that place for the past two years. "I don't know anyone by the name Gopal Singh," he said.
Arya's address in Industrial Area 'A' could not be located. In Ludhiana's business circles, Kailash Aggarwal has been known to be in the wool business; his son Anubhav is said to be in the business of making compact discs CDs). "They have recently bought 100 acres near Khanna for a CD factory. They are also building a plant in Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh," a friend said.
He also pointed to the father-son duo's peculiar style of functioning -they didn't interfere in each other's businesses. "Once the father chased away someone who went to talk to him about a deal with the son's business," he said.
That would have been considered remarkable professionalism, if only the company records didn't show the roles were actually the opposite. While the son held 98 per cent in ARK Imports and controlled the wool business, the father was, till recently, managing director of Shakun Polyplasts.
Friends said Anubhav, Anu to friends, was married to a Russian. "He met her when he had gone on a business trip. After the marriage, the finances have become even stronger..." In spite of the slump in business, Aggarwals continue to expand and get money in cash.
After finding the duo's offices at 228, Industrial Area A, shut, Business Standard tried to reach them at their house in Gurdev Nagar. A domestic help informed Anubhav was in Dubai and Kailash was yet to return from the Dungri factory. Persistent queries and some chance visitors took Business Standard past the gates, near the main door. A woman with reading glasses appeared.
Rajni Aggarwal, mother of Anubhav and a one per cent shareholder in ARK Imports, said, "Bauji (Kailash Aggarwal) bahar gaye hain. Hamara son-in-law hospitalised hain." When asked about her ownership in ARK Imports, she said, "Bauji dekhenge woh sab."
Did she know their company was being listed as a defaulter and about Rs 800 crore of public money was stuck? "Hamara son-in-law hospitalised hain. Hamari wohi priority hai. Yeh sab baad mein dekhenge." In no mood to entertain further queries, she sternly said, "Mein aap ki koi madat nahi kar sakti. Jab bauji ayenge, to tab mil lena. You may please leave now."
As the massive steel gates shut again, a Nissan Sunny quietly joined its big brothers in the portico.
