Nikhil Nanda booked in fraud, abetment to suicide case; victim's father seeks justice

The Dataganj Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district have registered a case against Nikhil Nanda, along with several officials of a tractor company, on charges of fraud and abetment to suicide.

ETV Bharat reports that a case was filed after a court order, naming Nikhil Nanda, the company's CMD, along with the firm's UP head, area manager, sales manager, Shahjahanpur dealer, and three other officials. They are accused of allegedly pressuring tractor agency owner Jitendra Singh into taking his life.

According to reports, the complaint was filed by Gyanendra, a resident of Papad Hamzapur village, whose brother Jitendra Singh ran a tractor agency, Jai Kisan Traders, in Dataganj. Initially, Jitendra managed the business with his co-partner, Lalla Babu, but after Babu was jailed due to a family dispute, Jitendra was left handling the agency alone.

Gyanendra alleged that Nanda, along with company officials Ashish Baliyan (area manager), Sumit Raghav (sales manager), Dinesh Pant (UP head), Pankaj Bhaskar (financier collection officer), Amit Pant (sales manager), Neeraj Mehra (sales head), and Shishant Gupta (Shahjahanpur dealer), repeatedly pressured Jitendra to boost sales. They allegedly threatened to revoke his dealership license and auction his property if sales targets were not met.

Under immense stress, Jitendra reportedly shared his distress with family and friends. On November 21, 2024, some company officials allegedly visited him again, intensifying the pressure. The next day, on November 22, Jitendra took his own life.

Despite filing a complaint earlier, Jitendra’s family claims the police failed to take action until the court intervened. Following the court’s directive, a case has now been registered against all the accused.

Jitendra’s father, Shiv Singh, stated that he was unaware of the connection of Nikhil Nanda (who is married to Amitabh Bachchan's daughter) to the matter, but held the company responsible for his son’s tragic demise. “I don’t know who he is. We want justice,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dataganj police station in-charge Gaurav Vishnoi confirmed that an investigation is underway. The police are investigating the matter. Initial news reports show the case was only opened after court intervention.