Nahan: A massive protest was staged in Nohradhar today over the alleged multi-crore scam at the local branch of Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank. Hundreds of residents, traders and political activists accused the bank management of mismanaging public money. They demanded that the bank management should take action as soon as possible, so that their lost money could be recovered. The protesters gathered in large numbers in the local market and raised slogans. The protesters expressed dissatisfaction over the ongoing investigation and demanded the resignation of the chairman besides suspension of the bank’s managing director. As tension mounted, the protesters surrounded the bank officials and sought an explanation over the delay in the arrest of the main accused.
The case related to the fraud of Rs 4.02 crore came to light on August 3. Initially, the bank management conducted an internal investigation and lodged a complaint at the Sangrah police station on August 10. However, the slow pace of the investigation led to public outrage, leading to a massive protest. Participants from various political backgrounds took part during the rally organised by the local trade union. BJP candidate from Renukaji Assembly constituency Narayan Singh also extended his support to the protesters. The protesters handed over a memorandum to Sangrah Sub-Divisional Magistrate Sunil Kayth, who was present on the spot, and urged the Chief Minister to order a high-level inquiry into the scam.
The SDM said, “The scale of the scam is alarming, but tampering with the system is unacceptable. We will send the memorandum to the Chief Minister soon.” Sirmaur District Bank Manager Priya Darshan Pandey said, “We are taking necessary action to recover the money. So far, seven employees have been suspended and 10 have been issued show-cause notices. The entire bank staff has also been replaced.” He said the affected depositors will get their money back. Account holder Indrapal lamented, “We left our life savings with the bank and now we have nothing left. How will we feed our families?”
