PONDA: Amid the ongoing issues surrounding the Sanjivani Sugar Factory in Goa, including its closure, VRS proposal to workers, and farmers’ criticism of the government’s failure on the ethanol project, a new development has emerged.
The Goa Police have made an arrest related to a scam involving the factory, where a contractor from Maharashtra cheated the establishment of Rs 5.10 Crore.
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The accused, identified as Pradeep Bhagwan Jamadar, a 60-year-old resident of Aurangabad, Maharashtra, was involved in deceiving the Sanjivani Sugar Factory in 2017. He had taken an advance payment of Rs 5.10 crore for harvesting work but failed to fulfill his obligations. Accompanied by a gang of labourers, Jamadar arrived in Goa to carry out the harvesting but absconded the very next day, along with his gang workers.
Inspector Praveen Gavas of Sanguem Police Station, along with the Ponda Police, successfully apprehended Pradeep Jamadar in connection with the sugarcane harvesting scam. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
According to officials at Sanjivani, after receiving the advance payment, the contractor brought his gang for harvesting, but they disappeared within a few days. In an attempt to trace him, two cheques totaling Rs 5 crore were provided by Jamadar, with each cheque amounting to Rs 2.5 crore. However, both cheques bounced, prompting the authorities to file a complaint with the Ponda and Sanguem Police. Unfortunately, he could not be located thereafter. Among the three contractors involved, the main accused was identified, traced, and arrested Thursday. The matter will now proceed to court, and officials are concerned about the possibility of recovering the lost money.
During the time of the incident in 2017, the then Administrator Morajkar and MD Umeshchandra Joshi were the officials overseeing the Sanjivani Sugar Factory when the advance payment was given.
