Date:27/08/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/27/stories/2006082717560300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Food grains exporter loses Rs. 35 lakh to trio

Staff Reporter

They promised to get sugar at a cheap rate

They promised him to get 35,000 tonnes of sugar from Government sugar mills

In chit fund fraud case, the bidders's failure to repay landed the accused in jail

CHENNAI: The City Crime Branch police have registered a case against three persons on charges of cheating an exporter to the tune of Rs. 35 lakh.

According to the CCB police investigating the case, N. Murugesan of Lingi Chetty Street, Chennai, was engaged in export of food grains and agro products. Babu alias Bavadeen of Vanniar Street Orathanadu, Thanjavur district, Kaya Rohanam of Pammal Muthamizh Nagar, Chennai and Vijaykumar of T. Nagar Chennai promised to get him 35,000 tonnes of sugar from State-owned mills at Rs.12.50 a kg, when the price of sugar in the open market was Rs.18 per kg.

They claimed that they had access to persons in the previous AIADMK regime and demanded Rs.1.50 per kg as commission.

As an advance, they took Rs. 35 lakh in two instalments — Rs 25 lakh in January 2005 and Rs.10 lakh in October 2005. However, after sometime they vanished, Murugesan stated in his complaint. Further investigation is on.

Chit fund fraud

A 32-year-old woman, Nagalakshmi of Mogappair, was arrested on Friday when several women from the locality complained she failed to return the money collected from them on a monthly basis.

According to Jamuna (48), Nagalakshmi was running a chit business. She collected around Rs.21 lakh. Preliminary probe revealed that many people who had bid the chit from her failed to repay. After registering a case, she was remanded to judicial custody.