Customers file police complaint against PMC Bank's officials
Mumbai: Several account holders of the crippled Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank filed a joint police complaint on Thursday against the bank's chairman and its directors for alleged misappropriation of funds of the customers, a police officer said.
A delegation of account-holders went to Sion police station in central Mumbai and submitted the complaint against officials of the bank, on which the RBI has imposed operational restrictions, he said.
The delegation in its complaint alleged that at least 14 people, including the PMC Bank's chairman and all its directors, were involved in misappropriation of funds of the account holders, he said.
They requested the police to take proper action against those named in their complaint and confiscate their passports, so that they are not able to escape from the country, the official said.
They also sought an explanation from the bank's chairman and directors over misappropriation of funds of the customers, he said.
"We have receiveda written application from account holders of the PMC Bank. Further action will be taken after examining the complaint," the police officer said.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday imposed operational restrictions on the PMC Bank.
As per the RBI's directions, withdrawals have been capped at Rs 1,000 per account and the bank is not allowed to make any fresh loans.
"The issue of the directions by the Reserve Bank should not, per se, be construed as cancellation of its banking licence. The bank will continue to undertake banking business with restrictions till further notice/instructions," the RBI said in a notification.
The restrictions will be in force for six months, the RBI said.
According to PMC Bank's website, the lender was awarded the scheduled status in 2000 and has a presence in multiple states.
On Wednesday, the bank tried to allay fears of the depositors and customers, saying it has enough liquidity to meet all liabilities and every penny of the public is secure.
Asserting that all its loans are fully secured, the management admitted that one large account - HDIL- is the sole reason for the present crisis.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
