No arrangement with NSEL or its member: Naraingarh Sugar Mills

Naraingarh Sugar Mills premises where around 140,000 tonnes of sugar was supposedly stored, according to NSEL

For investors in National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) sugar contracts, there is more bitter news in store. Business Standard spot checks found Ekam Enterprises, the client that owed Rs 512.16 crore, had shifted from the address it had provided several months ago. Also, the owner of the sugar mill, where the warehouses of Yathuri Associates were said to be located, said there was no such facility in the mill’s premises.

Ekam’s address in Panchkula’s Swastik Vihar led to a small 100-sq-ft cabin. While Ekam’s name was mentioned on the entrance on the ground floor, it did not have any details of its businesses, owners, etc. One of the two mobile numbers mentioned belonged to a person who identified himself as Sukhpreet. He said he had quit the company several months ago and worked elsewhere now. On being questioned further, he turned nervous and disconnected the call. Calls to the other number went unanswered.

Sanjay Kumar, who worked at Neelkanth Paint and Hardware Shop next door, said, “Two people came and got the name board about eight-nine months ago. I have not seen them since.”

Rakesh Mehra, who owned the shop-cum-office, said, “They vacated the place about six-seven months ago. They stayed here for about three-four months.” Mehra, a lawyer, said he had to check the documents for further details.

Property agents trying to rent the place said it could fetch up to Rs 5,000 a month.

The name Ekam Enterprises matches that of a UK-registered company. According to www.opencorporates.com, a portal that provides data on companies, the company has registered offices in Southall and Middlesex. Navdeep Singh Ghuman, Navtej Singh Ghuman and Baljit Kaur Ghuman are listed as directors. The company was incorporated on July 11 2011 and dissolved on February 19 2013.

NSEL stock positions published on August 6 showed the two warehouses of NSEL member Yathuri Associates had sugar stocks of 66,374 tonnes and 75, 890 tonnes, valued at Rs 225.53 crore and Rs 267.87 crore, respectively. The address of these warehouses were: Warehouse no 1, Yathuri Associates, C/O Naraingarh Sugar Mill, Naraingarh Road, Ambala district and Warehouse no 2, Yathuri Associates C/O Naraingarh Sugar Mills Ltd, Naraingarh Road, Ambala district.

Jitendra Anand, executive director, Naraingarh Sugar Mills, said, “I don’t know how we are concerned with this. We don’t have any agreement or arrangement with NSEL or Yathuri. We know the party (Yathuri). This party has been purchasing sugar from us. But they do not have any godown or warehouse with us.” He directed further queries to the sales department. An official in the department said Yathuri belonged to someone called Gagan Suri. “Ek do saal cheeni uthaya hai.” When asked why he had told the exchange he had stocks of about 1.4 lakh tonnes with the mill, the official said, “Woh toh aisa bola nahi hoga. Aise kaise bolega?”

On the road to the sugar mill, 30 km from Ambala, the sugarcane crop was growing fast and would be ready in time for the production season beginning November. The security officer at the mill said at the moment, there was no stock in the mill premises, as this was the off-season.