Suhana Malik’s (name changed) daughter called off her wedding two weeks before the big day on November 11. The decision was taken even as the cards were printed, the venue was booked and most of the preparations were done.
Suhana (48), who had not yet recovered from the shock of the wedding cancellation, received another jolt on November 8 when the decision to demonetise Rs. 500 and Rs.1,000 notes was announced. “There was around Rs.20 lakh cash at home. We had saved the money for wedding expenses,” she said.
Scared of an income tax inquiry, she deposited Rs.2 lakh each in her driver’s and maid’s accounts on the advice of her brother. “We had heard that only those who deposit more than Rs.2.5 lakh in their account would be questioned by the I-T Department. My driver and maid agreed to help us,” she said.
Domestic ‘help’
As per the agreement, the maid and driver were given Rs.10,000 each for “helping” them in the time of demonetisation. Suhana was given the assurance that she could withdraw the money in instalments after the situation normalises.
She asked her maid to give her eight signed blank cheques so that she could start withdrawing money in some time. A week after the money was deposited, the driver withdrew Rs.24,000 and gave it to Suhana. But two days later, he stopped reporting for work and his phone was switched off. “He was untraceable. We asked around and no one knew where he was. His house was locked. He ran away with Rs.1.76 lakh,” she said.
Black or white?
The family turned to its lawyer friend for help. “We couldn’t have gone to the police,” said Suhana.
“To be honest, I don’t know if all that money was ‘black’. But there was so much panic after November 8 that we rushed and deposited the money in his account.”
After 10 days, the driver responded to the lawyer’s calls. He said he would come back to Delhi from his native village in Madhya Pradesh in January and return the money. “I am not so hopeful of getting our money back now,” said Suhana.
