Rice Mill Owner Cheats AP Farmers To The Tune Of Rs 60 Crore

VIJAYAWADA: Farmers from various districts in Andhra Pradesh have filed a case against Pallavi Rice Mill owner Tatikonda Viswanadham (58) for allegedly cheating them to the tune of Rs 60 crore on Monday. Jaggayyapeta Police said the accused has been avoiding paying the farmers, who sold their produce to him for the past two years. Affected farmers from Telugu states reached Viswanadham's house at Rama Mandir in Vijayawada. Apart from the two Godavari districts, Nellore, Guntur, Prakasam, Kakinada, Krishna districts, Telangana farmers from, Khammam and Suryapet districts were also reported to have also been cheated by him. Farmers sold their yield to the rice mill either through middlemen or directly, but in both cases payments were kept pending. In 2015, Viswanadham agreed to pay Rs 25 crore to 54 farmers and traders to who he owed money.

The farmers sold their paddy stock to the Pallavi Rice Mills and when asked to clear the pending payments, Viswanadham reportedly gave evasive answers to the farmers. Payments for more than 60 percent of the farmers are still pending. He is allegedly said to have purchased properties with the farmer's payments. Viswanadham is said to have admitted that he owed them money, but as the rice mill was shut due to the pandemic situation, he was unable to clear the dues. Vishwanadham has been taken into custody and a case of cheating under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC has been booked against him. He is said to have assured that all dues would be cleared after selling the mill’s assets.

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