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Gujarat: Fake milk-fat reports cause Rs 53 lakh loss to dairy firm; six held
Bhavnagar, Oct 3 (IANS) Six people have been arrested in connection with an alleged conspiracy to prepare fake milk-fat reports and cause a financial loss of around Rs 53 lakh to CRAVE CREAMERY LLP, a milk company located at Bhojpara village in Bhavnagar district, police said on Saturday. The case came to light after the company’s owner, Shail Shakunt Apte, lodged three separate complaints against different accused persons at Bharatnagar, Velavadar Bhal and Talaja police stations. According to the complaints, employees of the company allegedly joined hands with others and prepared false milk-fat reports instead of the original reports for milk supplied to the company. Police alleged that the accused had entered into a pre-planned criminal conspiracy and, with a common intention, manipulated the milk-fat reports to facilitate cheating and cause financial loss to the company. The alleged fraud resulted in a loss of approximately Rs 53 lakh, according to the complaints. Considering the seriousness of the offences, senior officials handed over the investigation into all three cases to the Local Crime Branch (LCB). Acting on the directions, separate teams were formed and began searches at locations mentioned in the complaints. Six accused were subsequently apprehended and formally arrested, while proceedings have been initiated to seek their police custody remand. Three of the accused — Ratnabhai Mer, 27, a milk trader from Ganeshgadh; Shivbhadrasinh Chudasama, 30, a milk trader from Bavaliyali in Dholera taluka; and Gopalbhai Mewada, 23, an employee of CRAVE CREAMERY, a resident of Tarsamiya Road in Bhavnagar — were arrested in the Velavadar Bhal police station case. The case has been registered under Sections 316(2), 316(4), 316(5), 318(2), 336(2), 336(3), 338, 340, 344, 3(5) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. In the Talaja police station case, police arrested Jagdishbhai Tota, 38, a businessman from Fulsar village, and Nanubhai Hadgarda, 39, also a businessman from Fulsar. The case has been registered under the same sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Jaydeepbhai Bhuva, 26, who runs a milk dairy and is a resident of the Ghogha Jakatnaka area of Bhavnagar, was arrested in the case registered at Bharatnagar police station. Police said Mer has previously been booked in a case at Velavadar Bhal police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those relating to unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt, rioting, wrongful restraint, criminal intimidation and damage to property, along with Section 135 of the Gujarat Police Act. Tota also has a previous case registered at Talaja police station in 2019 under Sections 323, 504, 506(2) and 114 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 135 of the Gujarat Police Act. --IANS mys/dan
