FIR against 14 sugar mill officials

PATNA: In a sensational development,the Patna unit of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) haslodged an FIR with the Chhatauni police station against 14 senior officials of aprivate company, the Motihari Sugar Mill, including its director B K Nopani, fordefaulting and failing to deposit employees’ share of contribution worthover Rs 34.75 lakh and a matching share of the employer’s contributionfrom May 2000 to December 2001.The FIR has been lodged against Nopani andothers under sections 405, 406 and 409 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in theChhatauni police station.Police have initiated investigation for startingcriminal cases against the named accused of the company, M P Srivastava,enforcement officer of the Patna unit of the EPFO said. The mill management isalso facing criminal cases from the East Champaran district administration forfailing to pay over Rs 11 crore to farmers for three years.Moreover,action is being initiated against the mill management for the bouncing ofcheques worth over Rs 7 crore, given to farmers as payment of their dues. On theorder of sugarcane minister Raghvendra Pratap Singh, the department has referreda large number of complaints of farmers to the district administration forrealising dues of farmers from the management, sources said, adding that theEast Champaran DM has ordered launching of cases against the mill management forrealising farmers’ dues.According to EPFO sources, all the namedaccused in the case are absconding, while the East Champaran DM and SP havedirected police officials concerned to arrest them.The mill is owned bythe Birla Group of companies. Srivastava said the sugar mill is in habit ofdefaulting in the EPF contribution of employees for long. Repeated efforts ofthe EPFO to realise the PF contribution from the management failed to evoke anyresponse, he added.