Mumbai: Hundreds of depositors in the Punjab Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank staged protest in front of the Esplanade Court, demanding denial of bail to the arrested HDIL promoters Rakesh and Sarang Wadhwan, during their second appearence in the court on Wednesday.
The court extended the custody of Wadhwans, arrested by the EOW in the Rs4,355 crore fraud in the bank on October 2, till October 14.
Chaos broke out as the protesters later blocked the busy Mahapalika marg for a while and gheraoed a car of the Wadhwans’ defence advocates, as they came out of the court.
The police brought the situation under control. “We demand the HDIL directors should get jail, not bail. Because of them, we have lost our money. We all have gathered here to make sure they don’t get bail.
The government is encouraging us to join igital India but how can we join it when our money in the banks is not safe,” Anita Lohia, a protester said. “The withdrawal limit of Rs25,000 is nothing.
My two sons are studying CA and I need lakh of rupees to pay their fees. So, how will I manage the festive season and their fees? We want them to get jail and they should not abscond from the country like Vijay Mallya,” Hariom Rai, another protester said.
Manjula Kotiyan, another protester said: “We are protesting daily to get justice. I had made a fixed deposit in this bank after my husband met with an accident five years back and his hands were not in a condition that he can work.
I have no other source of income. What should we do? The banks should be merged and we should get our money back.”
Meanwhile, sources said the aaccused, Wadhwans, PMC ex-chairman Waryam Singh and MD Joy Thomas, would be confronted. “It is being done to verify certain facts ferreted out from them during their separate probe,” a senior EOW official told FPJ.
