Courtesy: Daily News and Analysis

Mumbai, Apr 18: Devang Patel, 27, was killed in the Ugandan capital of Kampala when a mob, protesting against Indian company Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited’s (SCOUL) bid to expand its sugar estates by developing a part of Mabira rainforest, went berserk.

But if Jay Mehta, husband of actor Juhi Chawla and group director of Mehta Group of Companies, of which SCOUL is a subsidiary, was to be believed, his company’s expansion bid was not to be blamed for Patel’s death. He said that the Ugandan government had not even allotted any land to them at Mabira — one of Uganda’s last remaining patches of natural forest — for sugarcane cultivation.

“The Ugandan government was still considering our request,” Mehta told DNA. “Moreover, we had asked only for the portion of the forest that has already been depleted and vandalized by encroachers, as you have in many places in India.”

Mehta added, “We are fully aware of the importance of preserving forest. Before we requested the Ugandan government for the additional land, we planted 450 hectares of forest. Our plan is to develop 1,000 hectares of forest on land not suitable for cane cultivation.”

According to him, the riot in Kampala was sparked by an Indian motorist who knocked down a couple of children in the procession, which was allowed by the Ugandan government to stage a “peaceful” protest march. “To make matters worse, another Indian motorcyclist injured a local journalist, sparking mob fury against the Asians,” said Mehta.

Mehta’s company is one of the few powerful Indian business families in Uganda. Set up by his grandfather, Nanji Kalidas Mehta, some 80 years ago, the group is involved in electronics, banks and insurance business.