The family alleged that he didn't receive adequate funds for his treatment despite holding an account with lakhs of rupees with the bank.
The Karuvannur cooperative bank in Thrissur where irregularities worth over Rs 150 crore have been detected. (Special Arrangement)
The family of a physically challenged man, who recently passed away, came out against the management of the scam-hit Karuvannur Cooperative Bank in Kerala’s Thrissur district on Wednesday, 4 October, saying he hadn’t received adequate funds for his treatment despite holding an account with lakhs of rupees.
Though the family had informed the bank that at least ₹5 lakh was urgently needed for his treatment expenses, they received only a small amount, they alleged.
Shashi, a native Kolangat in Thrissur, died last month.
Meanwhile, in a relief for one of the borrowers of the bank, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed that if he approached the bank for his title deed after clearing his dues, it shall approach the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to get the same.
Shashi reportedly held a deposit of several lakh rupees in the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank, which has been in the news for alleged loan fraud and other irregularities that diverted crores of rupees belonging to account holders.
A family member of Shashi said she had informed the bank about their situation and the amount they needed for the treatment.
“We approached the bank saying the money was for his treatment and this much money was needed… If anyone verifies the bank records, they will know how much we got,” she told the media.
Meanwhile, local Congress leaders and actor-turned-BJP leader Suresh Gopi visited Shashi’s family at his home and consoled them.
Providing relief to one of the borrowers, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed that if he moves the bank for his title deed after clearing his dues, it shall approach the ED to return the same.
The order was welcomed by Kerala Minister for Cooperation and Registration VN Vasavan, who said the court’s decision would benefit many other borrowers whose title deeds have been taken into custody by the ED in connection with its probe into the multi-crore Karuvannur bank scam.
The high court’s order came on a plea by an 80-year-old man — Francis — from Thrissur who claimed that despite repaying his loan in full, the bank has neither returned the title deed of his property nor executed a release deed.
The bank claimed in the court that the petitioner never approached it for the title deed. It also said that the title deed was in ED’s custody.
The ED told the court that if the bank sends an application for the return of the title deed, the agency shall consider whether the deed is required to be retained and if not, the same shall be returned to the bank.
“In the light of the above, it is ordered that if the petitioner makes a request before the second respondent Bank (Karuvannur) for the return of the title deed and execution of Release Deed after closure of the liability, appropriate steps in the light of the submissions noted above shall be taken. Writ Petition is disposed of as above,” Justice Sathish Ninan said.
Vasavan said that ED took into custody 162 title deeds on which around ₹184 crore was loaned.
He claimed that many people who came to close their liabilities could not do so as the deeds were with the ED.
“The taking away of the deeds did not serve any purpose. If the ED needed them as part of their probe, they could have taken copies.
“Their actions were intended to hamper the functioning of the bank and the cooperative sector as a whole. Their conduct vindicates our stand that the probe is politically motivated,” the minister claimed.
The ED, which is investigating the multi-crore scam, had last week arrested a local CPI(M) leader and Wadakkanchery Municipal Councillor PR Aravindakshan in connection with the Karuvannur bank fraud.
The agency also arrested a former employee of the Karuvannur cooperative bank, CK Jills, who allegedly syphoned off ₹5 crore from the bank.
The ED had earlier arrested Kiran PP and Satheesh Kumar P in connection with the alleged issuance of ‘benami’ loans from Karuvannur Bank.
On 11 September, CPI(M) leader and MLA AC Moideen was interrogated for over nine hours by the ED in connection with the probe.
The investigation into the alleged fraud, beginning in 2010, in the Thrissur-based bank stems from 16 FIRs registered by the Kerala Police (crime branch) in Thrissur.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) State Secretariat accuses the media of blowing the incident out of proportion and tarnishing the image of the cooperative sector.
As per the statement of Minister Vasavan, the state has 164 cooperative institutions that failed to refund deposits to customers even after their maturity period.
To partially shield itself from people’s wrath, the government recently announced a security amount of ₹2 lakh for each huge deposit in cooperative banks under the Kerala Cooperative Deposit Guarantee Scheme. But it so far remains on paper.
According to Opposition leader VD Satheesan, most investors in cooperative banks are ordinary people, and fraudsters are looting their hard-earned money.
People who live on shoestring budgets deposit their savings in such banks for a secure future. Targeting such people, the scammers forge papers and use their administrative powers to escape punishment.
According to a rough estimate, Kerala has 15,000 cooperative banks and societies.
(With PTI inputs)
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