CG News: Crores of Rupees Defrauded from Over 50 Farmers
A post-mortem examination was conducted in the presence of Chief Judicial Magistrate Namita Minj Bhaskar. It is noteworthy that the TI had previously faced allegations of assault. According to reports, Durghesh Katholia (41), a resident of Bhanwarmara village in Rajnandgaon district, was taken into custody from his village on 29 March by Dhamtari police. More than 50 farmers have filed a complaint at Arjun police station accusing him of defrauding them of ₹7.73 crore. The deceased’s father, Lakshman Katholia, mother, Sushila Katholia, and wife, Durga Katholia, stated that their son was brutally beaten when taken from their home. They later received news of his death. Upon reaching Dhamtari, they were initially prevented from seeing the body. After permission for a post-mortem was granted, they found injury marks on his legs, shoulders, ribs, abdomen, thighs, and other parts of his body. They allege that their son was already dead before they were informed.
Police claim that Durghesh’s health deteriorated. They state that the accused was arrested at 4:20 PM on 31 March and presented before the court. Subsequently, he was taken into police remand. While being taken to the police station at 6 PM, his health deteriorated, and he was taken to the hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Hospital Protest
As soon as news of Durgesh’s death reached the family, they rushed to Dhamtari. The family accused the police of brutally beating him and demanded action against Arjuni TI and the officers involved in his detention. The hospital remained tense from noon to 5 p.m. MLA Omkar Sahu, the district president, and other Congress leaders also arrived at the hospital.Details of the Case
CG News: Police reported that the accused, Durghesh Katholia, a resident of Bhanwarmara, defrauded farmers of a total of ₹7.73 crore by promising to sell their paddy at higher prices. Investigations revealed that he had committed similar frauds in Balod, Rajnandgaon, Gariaband, and Balaghat. A prior case has been registered against him at Basantpur police station in Rajnandgaon. Manishankar Chandra, ASP: The SP has suspended Arjun police station in-charge Sunny Dubey. The cause of death will be known only after the post-mortem report. A magisterial inquiry is underway.
