Kadaknath chicken scam: three arrested for duping farmers

Three officials of a Sangli-based poultry firm have been arrested after farmers from several districts in Maharashtra alleged that the company duped them after persuading them to invest in Kadaknath chicken farming.

Farmer leader Raju Shetti alleged on Tuesday that the accused had links with Maharashtra minister Sadabhau Khot. Khot denied the allegation.

The black chicken meat of 'Kadaknath' breed is popular in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, with a kilogram of it selling for as high as Rs 900.

Sangli-headquartered Maharayat Agro India Pvt Ltd is accused of cheating farmers out of their investment after promising to buy-back fully-grown chickens, and eggs.

So far, cases have been registered against the firm in Sangli, Satara, Pune, Kolhapur, Palghar, Nashik and Aurangabad, said assistant police inspector Shankar Salgar of Pune's Dattawadi police station.

Pune police earlier this month registered a case against the firm's founder-director Sudhir Mohite and other directors Hanumant Jagdale and Sandip Mohite for allegedly duping over 100 farmers of more than Rs 3 crore, Salgar said.

The Islampur police station in Sangli has registered a case against the firm's directors for cheating farmers of over Rs 10 crore, another official said.

"Around 600 to 700 farmers from various districts have approached us and filed their complaints," he said.

So far three men -- Sandip Mohite, Hanumant Jagdale, and Pritam Mane, an accountant in the firm's Pune office -- have been arrested. Sudhir Mohite and two other accused are still at large and the case has been transferred to Sangli Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

One of the complainants, Nilesh Ambede, alleged that he invested Rs 2.5 lakh in the company's scheme but it did not deliver the chicks as promised. He also claimed the company had promised that it would buy back full-grown chickens at Rs 300 per bird.

Based on his complaint, the Pune police registered a case against the firm's officials under Indian Penal Code sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating)