The man who claims he is a notional boss of Mylapore Hindu Permanent Fund Nidhi Ltd. says he will repay all depositors.
The thousands of depositors who are desperate have little faith in that promise.
And by some accounts, one of Mylapore’s once-respected Fund is beginning to stink.
On Thursday, many desperate depositors stood on South Mada Street to protest and some sat on the busy road. Police had to coax them to move off; else they would be arrested.
The Fund’s boss, Devanathan Yadav, who badly lost the Lok Sabha election on a BJP ticket, contesting in Sivaganga, has mailed a letter to Mylapore police station, saying that by June 30, he will settle outstanding dues on interests, FDs that are due and the rest. This is itself a strange move.
For some weeks now, he and his office have been promising angry depositors who visit the office that payments would start from early June. Depositors who raise their voices have been severely abused by a man who is known to them as Mariadhass.
Depositors smell a scam and say they are helpless. There are people who have deposited anywhere between Rs.25 lakhs and Rs.50 lakhs; all keen to get 11/12 % interest promised. That interest dried up for many from January/ February this year. Every day, there are men and women over 65 years, seen crying and pleading in the office. Many say they depend on the interest to pay for their medical and daily expense bills.
Even a dozen depositors who intend to take this issue to a Tribunal for relief have given up. Said one, “Totally, our deposits are over Rs.1.5 crore; we know we made a big blunder.”
Depositors who have consulted lawyers say that the promoters of the Fund have not only toyed with the organisation’s structure but also not managed it well, though the investments run to hundreds of crores. They say that unless the state’s CCB Police slap a case and probe this ‘Fund Nidhi’ as it is labelled now, they stand to lose badly.
