Multi-Crore fraud supplier of Radico Company held after 2 years from Telangana’s village

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

In a major development in a multi-crore fraud case, the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of the rural police has arrested the owner of a grain supply company for allegedly cheating Radico Khaitan by falsely claiming to supply thousands of metric tonnes of rice using forged documents. The accused, Jinna Vyanket Ramana Reddy (resident of Venampalli in Peddapalli district in Telangana state), had been evading arrest for nearly two years since the case was registered in 2024.

According to police inspector (EoW) Shamsunder Kautale, the accused has been brought to the city after his arrest, and the court has remanded him to police custody until March 14.

Fraud through fake rice supply documents

At Radico’s unit, ethanol and liquor are produced using molasses, maize, sorghum and rice. In the first quarter of February 2023, the company had signed an agreement with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for the supply of 55,908 metric tonnes of rice required for ethanol and liquor production. As per the agreement, Radico deposited Rs 112.99 crore into the corporation’s bank account on the instructions of its manager Ashish Tripathi. The rice stock was reportedly stored with Vyanket Ramana Reddy Lakshmi & Company at Maliwadi.

However, in alleged collusion with officials of the warehouse corporation, the accused used forged documents to show that 5,004 metric tonnes of rice had been transported to the company by truck, even though the supply never actually took place. As a result, rice worth ₹10.11 crore was never delivered to the company. The fraud came to light during the company’s internal investigation, after which a complaint was filed at the Karmad police station.

CCTV surveillance across the village

Since the case was registered, the EoW had been attempting to arrest Reddy. However, he repeatedly managed to evade the police by switching off his mobile phone and fleeing to cities such as Hyderabad, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr Vinaykumar Rathod later directed the team to plan the operation carefully. As Reddy was the deputy sarpanch of his village, he had installed CCTV cameras on almost every road in the village, with access to the surveillance system available both at the grampanchayat office and at his residence. Whenever unfamiliar vehicles or outsiders appeared on the cameras, he would escape through a hidden route from his house.

Arrest during women’s day programme

Police received information that a programme was being organised at the Venampalli grampanchayat office on the occasion of International Women's Day. Acting on the tip-off, police inspector Shamsunder Kautale, PSIs Madhukar More and Ram Hattarge, along with police personnel Dipesh Nagzhare, Jitendra Borse and Babarao Holambe, reached the area on the night of March 7.

They parked their vehicle 25 km away, travelled to the village using local transport while dressed in local attire, and waited at the event venue. When Reddy arrived as the chief guest at the programme, the police team, with the help of local officers, swiftly apprehended him. The arrest formalities were completed at the Srirampur Police Station before he was brought to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Further investigation is being carried out by PSI Hattarge.

Other Accused Already in Jail

In July 2024, a case was registered against several individuals including Reddy, his partner Jinna Venkata Ramanna Reddy, Amol Aaswar, Ganesh Devkar, Krishna Sangale, Sharad Reddy, Ashish Tripathi, Vishal Bankar, Anshirram Babuji Ghige and Balu Devidas Rathod. Among them, Central Warehousing Corporation manager Anshirram Ghige, his assistant Balu Rathod, and company employees Krishna and Amol were arrested earlier and have been lodged in Harsul Central Jail for the past 11 months.