Wayanad: The victims of ‘loan fraud’ organised a day-long sit-in in front of the Pulppalli Police Station here on Saturday, demanding the arrest of all the accused in connection with the case related to the Primary Cooperative Bank.
The stir was headed by Janakeeya Samara Samithi, an independent platform of the affected and the public. Apart from the kith and kin of Rajendran Nair, the farmer who committed suicide the other day, many members of the bank who were cheated by the office bearers of the governing body and bank staff also participated.
Inaugurating the stir, action committee chairman V S Chacko said though police had arrested two persons in connection with the fraud, a key accused is still roaming free.
Since the tales of fraud started trickling down in 2016, though Congress-led UDF maintained silence, to the dismay of the victims the LDF too was indifferent, distancing itself from the agitations of the victims, he alleged.
Chacko alleged the front leader CPM did not organise any serious agitations but torpedoed the attempts of the general public to stage an intensive protest against the bank. If all the political parties were united in ensuring justice for the farmers cheated by the bank, Nair would not have ended his life, he added.
The Janakeeya Samara Samithi is a sort of an extension of the Anti Corruption movement which was launched years ago. Though the first initiative was headed by the LDF in 2016 when the fraud was initially exposed, gradually the CPM backed out from the agitation scene, it was pointed out.
When more and more members of the bank started receiving revenue recovery notices citing fake loans, the issue heated up further. Later a 215-day-long agitation was held by the independent action council.
But the mainstream political parties continued with their lackadaisical attitude, the action council members said. Though the state government had ordered a vigilance inquiry and the Cooperative Department an internal probe into the allegations, no action was taken against any of the culprits till the death of Nair. The leaders also alleged that Nair was a victim of bureaucratic lethargy and political conspiracy.
The agitation concluded by 5 pm on Saturday. According to the leaders, the agitation is just a token strike; more serious agitations are in the pipeline if the government continues with its slow pedalling of the inquiry and procedures.
