Citing recently enacted farm laws, Khoja Traders, a trading company in Dewas owned by brothers Pavan Khoja and Suresh Khoja, cheated 22 farmers in Harda district with their 2,581 quintals of lentils per gram worth nearly 2 million rupees.
The 22 farmers first tried to locate the merchant by calling Dewas mandi, as the Khoja brothers had shown them the business license registered by the mandi. But they realized that the duo had deregistered within three months of its broadcast on mandi last year.
They went to the Khojas residence in Khategaon tehsil but could not find them. Finally, the farmers submitted an FIR to the Khategaon police and also submitted a written complaint to the Khategaon Subdivision Magistrate.
The incident acquires importance as it touches on two critical aspects of the Trade in Agricultural Products and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Law of 2020: registration of traders in private markets and dispute resolution.
Under Section 6 of the Act, the SDM is authorized to resolve any dispute that arises between a farmer and a trader. This has collided with farmers who fear that without going to court they would have no choice but to accept the agreement granted by a Conciliation Board constituted by the SDM.
The protesting farmers have also demanded that traders not be allowed to buy products simply on the basis of their PAN cards in private markets. They have also required the registration of traders in private markets.
In a written and signed complaint submitted to SDM on December 26, the 22 farmers said: “Pavan and Suresh Khoja came to us on different days and bought our product showing their registered license, assuring us that the money will be credited to our account. But when that didn’t happen, we approached Khategaon Mandi and found that they were no longer registered. We ask you to help us get the money from our products. “
The farmers have sent the request to the Chief Minister and also to the Minister of Agriculture.
When contacted, Dewas District Collector Chandramauli Shukla told The Indian Express: “The matter was reported today afternoon. We have formed special teams with the help of the police to track down the trader and make the farmers pay their fees. We hope to track him (Khoja) soon. “
Kanhaiya Patel, one of the Harda district farmers who was also duped told The Indian Express that at least 100-150 more farmers spread over four districts of Hoshangabad, Sehore, Harda and Dewas, have been duped.
Only after the check issued to the farmers by the merchant bounced did they realize the fraud. Anand Jat, a farmer from Alanpur village in Harda district, said that Pavan Khoja approached him with a proposal to buy the produce and told him that after the promulgation of the agricultural laws, the government had ordered the traders dealing directly with farmers.
Khoja offered Rs 700 more than the regular mandi fee and gave him a check. He sold around 90 quintals of lentils worth almost 5.5 lakh rupees, but the check bounced.
The latest case in Harda, the constituency of Cabinet Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel, is the eight of those reported in Madhya Pradesh since farm laws came into effect. Previous cases include: 71 farmers cheated in Seoni, 61 in Hoshangabad, 24 in Gwalior, 13 in Guna, eight in Balaghat and one in Barwani and one in Jabalpur. Of these three have been resolved.
Like Anand Jat, Suresh Khoja also convinced another farmer, Rahul Patel. Patel sold 276 quintals of lentils per gram worth Rs 20 lakh. The check that was issued to him also bounced. “It was not so much the extra profit of Rs 100 but the cost of transportation to get the product to the mandi that prompted me to sell the product to Khoja. But now I’m stuck, ”he said.
Kanhaiya Patel, who has been scammed out of Rs 22.5 lakh, said he was assured of an LBTR payment within two days, but that did not happen. He said that many farmers in Khategaon tehsil also have similar complaints against traders in Khoja. “We think there are at least 100-150 odd farmers, and the total amount involved is about 5 million rupees,” he said.
Dewas district collector Shukla said that since the farmers were spread over many districts, he would coordinate with others on the investigation.
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