Silchar: Nijam Uddin, a farmer from Assam’s Karimganj district, is facing an uncertain future after allegedly being swindled by a conman who promised him various subsidized items.
Despite saving his hard-earned money for years to improve his family’s future, Nijam fell victim to the scam.
“I had been saving up my hard-earned money little by little for years with the plan to use them for the betterment of my and my family’s future, but little did I know that I will be in such a bad situation one day,” said Nijam.
Nijam Uddin, along with 19 other farmers from different parts of Assam’s Karimganj district, fell victim to an alleged scam orchestrated by a man from Cachar district’s Borkhola.
The farmers had visited the Karimganj agriculture office to obtain subsidized items such as power tillers, power pumps, and tractors around two years ago, but they were unable to acquire them.
They were then introduced to a man who claimed to have knowledge about government subsidies and agriculture-related matters and gave them the contact number of Noor Ahmed from Borkhola., who allegedly had helped many farmers obtain subsidized items.
Describing the events, Nijam and the other farmers told reporters that they had been promised the subsidized items by Noor Ahmed, who had claimed to have connections with government officials.
The farmers were asked to deposit a certain amount of money as a processing fee, which they did. However, the promised items were never delivered, and their repeated attempts to contact Noor Ahmed went unanswered.
The farmers said that they had trusted Noor Ahmed and contacted him after he was recommended to them by a person they met at the Karimganj agriculture office. Noor had promised to help them obtain government-subsidized items and had taken lakhs of rupees from them. However, the farmers allege that they have not received any of the promised items to date.
According to the farmers, Noor had claimed to be a sub-dealer at Skylight Automotive Private Limited and had taken Rs. 20-25 lakhs from them in a deal done at Hotel Nakshatra in Karimganj. Noor had promised them that they would receive their subsidized items soon, but to date, they have not received anything.
“The farmers, who are simple and honest by nature, could not imagine that they were being conned,” said the farmers.
In addition to Nijam Uddin, several other farmers have reported losses after allegedly falling victim to the same scam. Those who wished to be named include Ismail Ali, Abu Saleh, Masur Ali, Ismail Uddin, Abdul Hasib, and Kabidur Rahman, all from Ratabari. Additionally, Fayjur Rahman, Madan Mohan Tiwari, Ratan Tiwari, Harish Tiwari, and Bijoy Kurmi from Nilambazar have also alleged that they have lost money in this scam.
“Madan Mohan Tiwari also alleged that Noor had taken Rs 10 lakh separately from him,” the farmers said.
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The farmers said they belonged to financially poor families and had given the money to Noor from all their savings and by selling their livestock. They alleged that “Noor and his goons” threatened them whenever they visited Borkhola to reach him and as such , they are living in distress and anxiety regarding their future. They earnestly appealed for justice and sought the intervention of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in this regard.
Ratabari BJP MLA Bijoy Malakar said he would speak with the authorities and steps would be taken regarding the matter as needed.
Noor Ahmed could not be reached for comments.
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