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Horticulture

Commission agent arrested for not paying Rs 75 lakhs to orchardists

Solan: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of CID has arrested a commission agent from Solan for alleged non-payment of more than Rs 75 lakhs to orchardists. The accused is a native of the Sirmaur district and owns Tomar Fruits and Vegetables in Solan.

According to the reports, the agent had purchased apples from more than 20 growers but did not pay them for the same. The fruit growers urged him to make the payment but he kept making excuses.

Having no other choice, orchardists approached the SIT headed by Superintendent of Police (SP) Virendra Kalia which was formed to deal with such cases.

Taking immediate action, the SIT summoned the accused for interrogation but he did not turn up. The SIT then arrested the accused on Wednesday from Solan. He will be presented before the court on Thursday.

For the past few years, many Commission agents were cheating farmers and were not making payments to them after purchasing their produce. Due to this, orchardists were facing many problems. To stop such cases, a SIT headed by SP Virendra Kalia was constituted in 2019. Till now, the SIT had recovered more than Rs 15 crores from commission agents and have paid it to the orchardists.

Navneet Rathore

Navneet Rathore is a Shimla based journalist having two-years of experience in the field of journalism. Navneet is a post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communications from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla and is specialised in crime, education, health, environment, agriculture and Horticulture beats.