Kolkata/Bengaluru: K C Das Pvt Ltd, the Kolkata sweets brand known for helping popularise canned rasogolla, is facing operational difficulties in Bengaluru at a time when a family and corporate governance dispute involving the company is pending before National Company Law Tribunal’s Kolkata Bench.The situation appears most visible in Bengaluru, where K C Das once had about 20 outlets, both owned and franchised. Several outlets have closed and some are said to be carrying on with a reduced product range. “Misti doi and sonpapri, the two most sought-after items here, have not been made for five months. Salaries are not being paid on time,” said an employee.The developments have raised concerns among some family shareholders about a possible impact on the Kolkata business, where K C Das has 12 outlets and where the brand’s supply chain, finances and reputation remain central to its identity. Two family shareholders have approached NCLT seeking intervention, contending that the problems in Bengaluru could affect the nearly century-old company’s legacy and place pressure on the Kolkata operations.The issue involves members of the K C Das family, including 92-year-old Birendranath Das, his nephews Dhiman Das and the late Sanjoy Das, and Sanjoy’s heirs: his widow, Ambalika, and their son Srinjoy. Birendranath is the grandson of founder K C Das; Dhiman is the great-grandson, as was Sanjoy.The proceedings relate to changes in shareholding, board appointments, management control and allegations of mismanagement. Srinjoy and Ambalika have challenged changes in the shareholding pattern and Dhiman has raised objections relating to alleged mismanagement and appointment of directors without proper notice or agenda. Dhiman oversees the Kolkata operations.Employees connected with K C Das’s Bengaluru operations, more than six decades old, said business had been affected. The management has cited LPG shortage as the reason for disruption in production even as workers and insiders have questioned why similar issues have not affected other sweet shops in the city. Many pointed to a factory relocation as having added to the problems.Some workers have linked the Bengaluru situation to broader financial and governance concerns. They alleged that the earlier family-run arrangement — under which Birendranath handled Bengaluru while Sanjoy and Dhiman managed Kolkata — changed after senior manager Shampa Chakravarty and consultant Mahaveer Jain were brought into influential roles. These claims are contested and remain subject to adjudication.Chakravarty declined to comment and directed queries to the “company headquarters” in Kolkata.Dhiman, when contacted, acknowledged that the Bengaluru operations were facing a crisis and said he feared it could affect the Kolkata operations financially in the future.Employees also claimed that some senior staff had not been paid for six months and some junior staff were being paid every alternate month. “The reputation of the oldest Bengali sweets brand in Bengaluru is at stake,” said an employee.
