Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In a bizarre incident, it has come to light that the directors of Delhi's Erisha Agritech Private Limited company defrauded the city industrialist Manish Dhoot of Rs 1.05 crore by promising him the distributorship for Marathwada. Besides, they also misused his name to appoint dealers in the region and extorted lakhs of rupees from the aspirants. On Wednesday, Vedantnagar police station registered a case of fraud against Darshansingh Rana, his son Sudhir Rana, group president Parminder Singh Baveja, and Manish Kumar of Erisha Agritech Pvt. Ltd.
It so happened that two individuals named Kiran Indulkar and Umesh Mulmule approached Dhoot in December 2021. Introducing themselves as representatives of Erisha Company, they claimed that the company produced agricultural tools and equipment for Russia's Belarus Company. They enticed Dhoot to take the company's distributorship, citing his influence in the Marathwada business community. Initially, Dhoot declined, but they persuaded him with various assurances. Subsequently, Dhoot visited Delhi to inspect the company and met with the accused owner, Darshansingh Rana. In January 2022, Rana visited the city and gave Dhoot a letter of intent. Dhoot then paid him Rs 5 lakhs and subsequently fulfilled the contract by paying Rs 1 crore. In return, Rana sent seven tractors, twelve rotovators, and other products.
None of the promises kept
Rana initially gave Dhoot the authority to appoint the first dealer. However, once he received the money, he misused Dhoot's name and appointed dealers himself. Besides, the promised various commissions and interest on the security deposit were also not honoured. During the product sale, it was revealed that Rana's company did not have permission from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). Hence none of their products had chassis numbers and could not receive RTO passing.
Dhoot repeatedly contacted the accused, but they gave evasive responses. They extorted lakhs of rupees from many dealers for dealership rights. Dhoot returned the initial products provided by the company, but they still did not refund the amount. Consequently, Dhoot decided to take legal action. Further investigation is on by police inspector Praveena Yadav and PSI Vinod More.