Arecanut vendor in Bantwal accused of duping farmers of Rs 95 lakh; police file case
Bantwal: An arecanut vendor has been accused of cheating more than 24 people of around Rs 94.78 lakh through fraudulent trade of arecanut and black pepper.
A case has been registered by Bantwal Police based on a complaint filed by 45-year-old Praveen D’Souza, a farmer from Navoor village in the taluk, reports Deccan Herald.
The complainant has stated that he had been selling arecanut to Noufal Mohammad, a resident and shop owner in the village. The vendor, however, would pay only a part of the amount during each transaction and promise to clear the dues later.
On March 8, D’Souza sold nearly 6.5 quintals of arecanut worth around Rs 3.5 lakh but received no payment from the shop owner. On June 9, Mohammed messaged D’Souza that he had incurred losses and would pay the dues in installments.
Upset by this, the farmers visited Mohammed’s shop on June 10, but found it locked. The vendor’s house was also locked and his mobile phone was found switched off.
D’Souza and 24 other people, who were also waiting for payment from Mohammed, approached Bantwal Police, alleging that the vendor had absconded, thereby committing breach of trust, and duped them of around Rs 94.78 lakh.
Bantwal Police have registered a case under BNS Sections 316(2) and 318(4). Investigation is going on.
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14 India-bound ships in Strait of Hormuz stopped by Iran; 1 hit by bullets, 1 crosses: Sources
New Delhi (PTI): A convoy of 14 India-bound ships carrying crude oil and gas were stopped by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by firing at two of them while they were transiting the Strait of Hormuz, leading to 13 of the vessels returning to different locations in the Persian Gulf, official sources privy to the development said.
An Indian-flag carrying ship, which was hit by bullets fired by the IRGC while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, was carrying crude oil and a window pane was broken, forcing it to stop the journey and return. The extent of damage to the second vessel was not immediately known but it also had returned.
However, another ship, which was Indian flagged and loaded with crude oil for the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, sailed through the Strait and is now heading towards India, the sources said.
Two Iranian gunboats approached the targeted tanker and fired at it without warning. Gunboats approached the vessel 37 kilometres northeast of Oman, causing other vessels to return without completing the crossing, the sources said.
The incident was reported in waters between the Qeshm and Larak islands, they said.
Out of the 14 India-bound vessels, seven are carrying the Indian flag, four have the Liberia flag, two are of the Marshall Islands and one of Vietnam.
Six of them are loaded with crude oil, three have LPG and four are loaded with fertilisers. Among the ships, five are bulk carriers. All 14 vessels were sailing in a row.
Thirteen of them were stopped by the Iranian Navy and were instructed to wait. Out of the 13 stranded vessels, seven vessels are drifting south of Larak Island, waiting for clearance from the Iranian Navy, the sources said.
The Indian government is understood to have been coordinating with the Iranian authorities for the safe voyage of the stranded India-bound ships, they said.
The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz reportedly escalated again on Saturday as Iran reversed its reopening of the crucial waterway and fired on ships attempting to pass. This came as the United States pressed ahead with its blockade of Iranian ports.
Confusion over the Strait, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passes, threatened to deepen the energy crisis.
The ceasefire between Iran and the US is due to run out by mid-next week.
Iran's joint military command said Saturday that "control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces."
It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.
