BANKING ON MISTRUST

Co-operative banks in and around Hyderabad have been falling like ninepins of late. And they have taken down with them, the aspirations and secure future of many depositors who just wanted a few bucks more by way of interest.

My neighbor, a senior citizen, resides alone in the apartment next door.

A frazzled old man, he looks more like a mummy that came back to life.

The other day, he roused me out of my sleep by ringing the bell at 6:00 a.m.

Gummy-eyed and sleep weary, I answered his call.

He staggered in on his walking stick and requested for a chair (in a tone that was nothing less than demanding.)

I offered him a chair.

He handed me two sheets of scrawling handwriting that the best handwriting analyst could not decipher.

"This is a confidential matter. Regarding XXX Bank that has just gone bust. I had some money in it. I lost it all. I am now sending this application to the Honorable High
Court of Andhra Pradesh. For God's sake, please get this letter typed for me. I want four copies of it. And please do keep the matter confidential."

And with that, he bought his shivering palms together in a reverential salute and hobbled back to his apartment.

I did not bother reading the letter until the evening when I actually began typing it.

It was tragic in a comical sort of way. Words poured out in a style that was reminiscent of the British Raj. Words that made the right sounds but had the wrong grammar. Insufficient and sometimes incoherent words in an alien language. Words that were the only means of communication of a man trapped.

Read the letter yourself:

LETTER BEGINS:
To
The Chief Justice,
The Andhra Pradesh High Court,
Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh.

Sub: Daylight cheating of the public by the co-operative banks in Hyderabad city and around. A special prayer for justice.

Dear Sir,

I am a senior citizen aged 78 years. I am an unfortunate depositor of XXX Bank Begumpet Branch, Hyderabad for a short period of 91 days which is meant for medical purposes only in view. These deposits are to the extent of One Lakh in 10 pieces of 10,000/- and odd each. Three have matured already on 23/3/03 and the remaining seven are due to mature on 27/5/03. I was out of station from 4/3/03 and back on 15/3/03. By the time I returned, the unexpected turmoil of XXX going into bankruptcy has come to light.

My health which is already in a bad state has become worse and I developed gall bladder stones as per the medical reports from NIMS Hospital, Hyderabad received on 6/04/03 with instructions to go in for operation forthwith. But due to financial circumstances, I could not admit myself in the hospital.

On the working day of XXX Bank, i.e, on 8/4/03, I approached the Manager and shown all the papers indicating my medical position and emergency of the situation. The Manager has coolly forwarded all the papers to their Head Office and nothing is heard so far. If the operation do not take place at least within a period of ten days, my health will be in a precarious state.

As per newspaper reports are the XXX Bank Directors and their relatives and in some cases, their car drivers are the main loan takers to the tune of Rs. 53 Crores or so. All these transaction took place under very nose of the RBI and Registrar of Co-operative Societies.

Unless the Honorable Court comes to our rescue there is every likelihood of going to the brink of death in view of poor health in old age and the urgently due operation to be performed on my body for gall bladder stones.

I am enclosing herewith the Xerox copies of the NIMS Hospital card of pages, xerox copies of the deposit receipts and some Xerox copies of some Eenadu Newspapers indicating the duties of the Reserve Bank of India.

In view of the above precarious circumstances in which I have been (there may be number of others also of the same position) put, I implore the Honorable High Court to be kind enough to assume suo moto jurisdiction and arrange for payment of dues from XXX Bank, Begumpet Branch to save us from death.

The lapses are there on the part of the Bank Directors, the RBI and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies are multiplied by throwing aside the Narasimha Murthy Commission Report since the last 6 and odd months without looking into recommendations made therein to avoid such white-collar thefts and to wake up the state government from deep slumber.

Kindly save me from the turmoil please.
LETTER ENDS.