BENGALURU: The sleuths of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) searched 14 places linked to the board of directors and staff of the scam-hit Shushruti Souharda Sahakara Bank Niyamita, on Wednesday. Several depositors of the bank had lodged complaints against its chairman and others in various police stations in the city, including Wilson Garden, Rajagopalanagar and Peenya, where the bank has its branches. The bank chairman Srinivas Murthy, his wife and one of the directors of the bank Dharini Devi and his daughter Mokshatara were arrested by the police.
These cases were transferred to the CCB for further investigation. As part of the probe, the CCB police searched 14 places including the bank’s head office in Wilson Garden, branch offices in Peenya, Chikkajala and Rajagopalanagar, residences of its chairman and directors. More than 50 police personnel including five ACPs and 14 inspectors took part in the search operation. It is learnt that the police have seized several documents related to deposits, loans, and payments of interest. Besides, the police seized Rs 20 lakh in cash, fixed deposit certificates for Rs 30 lakh, and documents of properties belonging to the chairman and others. The depositors had alleged that the bank had offered returns of 8-10 percent on their deposits but had failed to pay the same.
The staff had also allegedly threatened some depositors, who wanted their deposits to be returned following which the depositors filed police complaints. In April, the Reserve Bank of India imposed several curbs on the bank, which has around 15,000 depositors, including a withdrawal cap of Rs 5,000 per account due to a deteroriation in its financial position. Cooperation Minister ST Somashekhar had informed the Legislative Council that an audit exposed the misappropriation of Rs 110 crore in the bank.