Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday directed the police to take steps for attaching, through courts, properties of firms that ran emu farms and repaying the amounts invested by thousands of depositors.
The Chief Minister also asked the Animal Husbandry Department to arrange for feeding the birds, which had been abandoned by owners and employees of the firms. Veterinarians from the department and Namakkal Veterinary College were providing medical care to the birds. As it would take three months for the emu chicken to grow to full size, adequate financial allocation had been made for the Animal Husbandry Department to look after them for the subsequent three months. Once the birds attained full growth, efforts would be made to sell them. Out of the proceeds of revenue so realised, a portion would be used to feed the birds and the rest be given to the investors. She said that so far 16 complaints had been received by the police against the firms that did not fulfil their commitment of making monthly payment to the investors. Thirty three persons had been named in the first information reports. Of them, four were arrested and the whereabouts of the rest were not known.
Arrested
Staff Reporter from Erode writes:
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the State police on Friday arrested P. Karthikeyan (29), partner in Perundurai-based Nidhi Emu Farms, for his alleged involvement in the emu contract farming scam.
Police said on August 14, the Perundurai police arrested the firm’s managing director Palanisamy (25) based on a complaint by an investor that the returns were not paid by the firm.
It is learnt that close to 250 persons had invested in Nidhi Emu Farms and its owners went underground after the scam in Susi Emu Farms came to light on August 6.
