Eight years after a farmer cheated of Rs 19.39 lakh, CBI initiates probe

V Ramakrishnan of Attur in Salem had applied for subsidy to purchase harvester through an assistant executive engineer of State Agricultural Engineering department in 2011. Accordingly, the officer issued a supply order carrying a conditional clause that the machine was to be supplied within 15 days.

The total cost of the machine was Rs 19.39 lakh and of this, Ramakrishnan directly paid Rs 15.39 lakh to administrative director of South East Farm Equipment. The remaining amount, Rs 4 lakh, was the subsidy to be paid by the department to the firm.

According to Ramakrishnan, he was never given the harvester and his money was also not returned. He alleged that two assistant executive engineers, K Chinnappan and Albert, along with Saravanan, the administrative director of the private firm, conspired and prepared fake invoice by using another harvest vehicle he had purchased in 2010 to swindle the money.

As Ramakrishnan never got the money or machine even after approaching the suspects several times, he approached the police. After the police closed the case as mistake of fact, Ramakrishnan’s petitioned the Madras High Court, which observed that the police had colluded with the suspects and ordered a CBI probe into the case.