24 June,2009 08:33 AM IST | | Suresh M R
Some were given electronic equipment instead of salary last monthu00a0
Forget customers, Vijay Tata, owner of Orange Properties, hasn't even paid his employees.
On Monday, MiD DAY had reported how Vijay Tata (also known as Vijay Kumar) had taken money from over 400 people for sites, which they never got.
Yesterday, around 100 employees came forward saying he also owed them their salaries.
"We were already feeling guilty for working in a company that was doing something wrong," said an employee. "On top of it, we are not getting our salaries. We are also being cheating," he said.u00a0
Apart from land dealings, Orange Properties also runs electronics and furniture shops.
Some of stores' marketing executives were given electronic equipment instead of a salary last month.
u00a0"I don't know what they have done with the crores of rupees collected from customers," said an executive. "I wonder why they are not able to pay our salaries."
He feared the company was clearing out goods before it shut down.
"Everything was fine at the beginning, but all hell broke loose when they could not keep their promise," said another employee.
"I could not bear being abused by the customers, and finally decided to quit."
u00a0He is looking for a new job. "I don't want to talk about this anymore as I don't want to put my life under risk," he said.
Don't pester me
Declining to comment, Vijay Tata said, "Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. I said I would sort the issue in a week and that is final. Don't disturb me with persistent queries."
Vijay would drop the names of politicians to his customers. In fact, the vice-president of the company, P Prabhu, would be seen in the company of a supercop-turned-politician during the recent poll campaigns.u00a0
Vijay's customers now fear his political clout may ruin their chances of getting their money back.u00a0
