ANANTAPUR: The scam-tainted Kalanikethan management has allegedly tried to lure politicians and the police, seeking a private settlement of the cheating case pertaining to its large-scale purchase of silk saris from handloom weavers in Anantapur district.
Dharmavaram MLA G. Suryanarayana has said the Kalanikethan management approached him with an offer of Rs 2 crore to settle the issue between weavers and the management. But, he was fighting for the weavers in his constituency who were cheated by the management, he said. Hyderabad-based Kalanikethan showroom had purchased saris from silk houses of Dharmavaram, Mudd-ireddypalli and Soma-ndepalli areas. The Dharmavaram police alone registered 13 cases against its managing director Leela Kumar and other directors based on complaints filed by local silk houses. About Rs 3.98 crore in dues is pending payment for the handloom weavers and silk houses of Dharmav-aram town. The police is expected to receive a few more complaints from victims in other parts of the district.
A special team of the Dharmavaram police arrested managing director Leela Kumar, absconding for the past one week, in a ra-id at his residence in Banjara Hills in Hy-derabad. Police nabb-ed director Lakshmi Sharada and shifted him to Anantapur. The police had also extracted information about stocks and cash deposits of the showroom during their police custody and the woman is now lodged in Reddy Palli prison in Anantapur district.
Handloom weavers and silk house owners hope to get justice and get recovery of their dues after the police efforts to arrest the MD succeeded. Dharmavaram poli-ce also asked weavers and silk houses from the other parts of the state who, if any, were cheated by the management, to approach the police and file a complaint.
