Keralan BSNL society fraud victims want a prompt investigation

The victims of the BSNL Engineers Cooperative Society fraud have requested that the Crime Branch look into the issue as soon as possible in order to learn more about the theft of ~260 crore from the depositors.

The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act has been used by the government to start the process of reclaiming assets from offenders. Victims said, however, that Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram district collectors were soft-pedaling the procedure. “It’s been a year, and about 56 properties in Kollam and about nine acres in Thiruvananthapuram haven’t been seized yet,” one anonymous victim said. The chargesheet has been postponed as well since the investigation is not yet complete.

The victims claimed that neither the government nor the Crime Branch had made any effort to contact the court for updates on the whereabouts of the assets they had retrieved.

In contrast to the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank fraud, the victims claim that despite the fact that many people have been impacted, the matter has not received the attention it needs and that authorities often disregard it. Victims claim that while the Enforcement Directorate has taken up the matter, a thorough investigation has not yet started.

The victims claimed that since the primary offenders were well-known politicians, there was a delay in the inquiry.

In December 2023, the Crime Branch detained A R Gopinathan, the president of the society, and Rajeev, the clerk, in connection with a reported `260 crore money theft.