The kingpins of the sugar scam in Vadodara — Jaykant Patel and Devendra Thakkar — used an age-old modus operandi to siphon off Rs 18.7 crore, it has been revealed.

In some cases, they manipulated weights, while in others, the changes in the sugar prices procured from the producers were not reflected on paper.

According to the members of the Central Gujarat Chambers of Commerce, the accused were siphoning funds for the past four years, even as scores of letters were written to state Agriculture Minister Bhupendra Chudasama apprising him of the corrupt practices by Jaykant Patel, the former chairman of the Vadodara District Sugarcane Growers’ Union.

On Wednesday, the Vadodara district police led by Karjan Inspector M V Gadhvi raided Patel’s residence and sugar factories at Gandhara in Karjan and Lodha near Bodeli in Vadodara district and recovered important evidences and documents against the accused.

Gadhvi and his team seized 25 vouchers, account books related to the Vadodara District Sugarcane Growers’ Cooperative Union and documents related to the sale and purchase of sugarcane for the union from Patel’s house.

“As per the complaint filed by the state auditors in Karjan police station, there were discrepancies of Rs 8.5 crore. On Wednesday, we seized 25 vouchers — used for buying sugar — that belongs to the Vadodara District Sugarcane growers’ cooperative union. We are examining the accounts, but there are vast discrepancies in the audits done by Patel and his associates and what was carried out by the Registrar of cooperative societies, which is the main complainant,” said Gadhvi.

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