Dairy dream curdles into suicide, missing machines

Rajkot: A dispute over a dairy unit in rural Rajkot spiralled into allegations of harassment, fraud and missing machinery, with a 45-year-old widow accusing her former landlords of driving her husband to suicide and later causing the disappearance of equipment worth over Rs 61 lakh.

Kajal Hindocha, a resident of the Railnagar area, filed a complaint at Paddhari police station against former landlords Jaideep Panchani and Dharmishtha Panchani alleging criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.

Hindocha said that her husband, Nilesh, and his partners, had in 2024 set up a milk processing unit, We4U Dairy Products, at Khambhala village.

The unit, located at Ganesh Das Plot, was rented from Manjula Panchani and her son Jaideep Panchani for Rs 15,000 a month. After signing the lease, the partners bought machinery worth over Rs 61 lakh, through a loan from SBI.

Kajal alleged that after about a year of operations, in April 2025, Dharmishtha Panchani came to the dairy and accused them of not paying rent. “She told us to shut the dairy, locked it and kept the key with her,” the complaint states.

According to Kajal, the lockout left her husband distressed. On April 18, 2025, Nilesh Hindocha, 47, killed himself with poison at Satodar village in Jamkandorana taluka.

She further stated that after the death, Jaideep and Dharmishtha Panchani assured the family that they would not demand rent and would release the machinery. A settlement agreement was signed in Rajkot on Sep 22, 2025, after which the dairy was unlocked. However, the machinery was not returned.

Hindocha said she had lodged a separate complaint at Jamkandorana police station pertaining to her husband’s suicide against Jaideep Panchani and his sister Dharmishtha Panchani. When her late husband’s partner, Bhargav, along with SBI officials, had visited the dairy, they found the machinery missing. Bank officials reported the matter, she said.

Kajal alleged that Jaideep and Dharmishtha Panchani, along with others who may be incriminated during the probe, committed fraud by removing the machinery as part of a pre-planned conspiracy.