Team Herald
MARGAO: South Superintendent of Police Arvind Gawas said police will investigate the complaint lodged by some farmers from Canacona of being cheated by directors of two companies and a bank manager of Margao branch.
As per the complaint lodged by 21 farmers, they had availed of the government scheme to erect a polyhouse to grow vegetables and flowers mostly orchids and stated that they did not receive any of the promised subsidy amount but are now served with notices.
The complaint states that Prashant Teli, who was the Manager of the Agriculture Division of the Bank introduced them to Murtuza Patel and Vinay Patel, both directors of a company and Devidas Gaonkar and Gajanan Gaonkar both directors of another firm.
Both the companies were supposed to erect the polyhouses with drip irrigation for the farmers and though they started the work, the same was done at a slow pace that the farmers completed the work themselves by using own resources.
The directors reportedly told the farmers that they would have to pay only 10 per cent of the cost as the balance would be paid by the Central and State governments through their various schemes.
The first installment of loan was disbursed on March 25, 2015 and there was no communication subsequently and then in December the farmers realised that the money was transferred to the project proponents by the bank without even informing the farmers and even though the work was not completed.
The farmers complained that Teli took their signatures on some blank papers and made each of them submit five blank cheques. In August 2016, the farmers apparently received notices to pay back the loan amount.
However, in January this year, the farmers wrote to the bank expressing their inability to service the loan and collect the money from the guarantors who were arranged by the bank officials, that the farmers have received notices under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
