18 farmers cheated in crops deal

Rajkot: A 30-year-old farmer from Soratha village in Kalavad taluka of Jamnagar district has lodged a police complaint against a farm produce trader for cheating him and several others of nearly Rs 97 lakh.The complainant, Kuldeep Kothiya, named Dilip Savaliya, a resident of Kalavad engaged in the purchase and sale of agricultural produce.During 2025–26, Savaliya purchased commodities including groundnut, sesame, and white chickpeas from Kothiya and 18 other farmers, but did not make ake full payments, resulting in total fraud amounting to Rs 96.97 lakh.Kothiya said he had been in contact with Savaliya for three years. In Jan, Kothiya sold 1,685 bags of groundnut to Savaliya for Rs 24 lakh against which he paid only Rs 5.90 lakh in cash. When Kothiya tried to contact Savaliya later, his phone was switched off. Upon further inquiry, he learnt that Savaliya had allegedly bought produce from several farmers and absconded without clearing dues.