DEHRADUN: Saraswati Devi, a social activist from Srinagar, Uttarakhand, has proven that determination can move mountains. In a remarkable show of resilience, the activist has reached the national capital after a grueling 350-kilometre foot march, carrying with her the hopes of 1.5 lakh investors devastated by the Loni Urban Multi-State Credit & Thrift Co-operative Society (LUCC) chit-fund scam.
Arriving on International Women’s Day, her mission is not political, but personal and collective. She represents thousands of homemakers whose lifelong savings—money intended for the education of their children or their future security—have been reduced to nothing by one of the largest financial frauds to hit the hill state.
“This is the cry of families who lost everything in a single stroke,” Saraswati Devi told this daily upon reaching Delhi. “We are not here merely to protest; we have come with the hope that the President will listen to our plight and understand the scale of this suffering.”
The march, which began in Srinagar Garhwal, wound its way through Devprayag, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Roorkee, Muzaffarnagar, and Ghaziabad. Despite the physical toll, Devi remained steadfast. Her decision to march to the president’s residence came after several failed attempts to secure justice through local administrative channels, including petitions submitted to the SDM and DM, which yielded no satisfactory results.
Devi, known in Uttarakhand for her active involvement in social causes—including her vocal fight for justice in the Ankita Bhandari murder case—has declared that she will not return home until she secures a meeting with the country’s highest office and receives assurances on the investigation.
The LUCC chit-fund scam, estimated at roughly `800 crore, has crippled the economic stability of countless households across Uttarakhand. The modus operandi was simple yet devastating: victims were lured with the promise of exorbitant interest rates on their investments, only for the company’s offices to vanish overnight.
While the CBI is probing the fraud and has proposed a centralised online portal to consolidate victim data, survivors remain skeptical and exhausted.
The investigation also intersects with other financial irregularities, specifically involving the company ‘Myfledge’. Key accused individuals, including Shabab Hussain Rizvi, Bishwajit Ghosh, and Piyali Chatterjee, are under scrutiny.