Accusing Union Minister for Minority Affairs K. Rahman Khan of defrauding the beleaguered Amanath Cooperative Bank, Anwar Manippady, Minorities Commission Chairperson and Bharatiya Janata Party leader, demanded that Mr. Khan immediately step down from the ministry and face an inquiry.
Addressing a press conference here Wednesday, Mr. Manippady alleged that Mr. Khan, then bank president, had borrowed huge sums from the bank in the names of people close to him. He defaulted in repayment and the principal amount as well as the interest were waived, pushing the bank to such a situation it was unable to return depositors’ money and withdrawals capped at Rs.1,000 a month. “Amanath Bank was been set up with the hard earned money of thousands of ordinary people. They have lost their life’s savings because of Mr. Khan,” Mr. Manippady said.
After investigations pointed out to Mr. Khan’s complicity and that neither the Union Finance Ministry nor the Reserve Bank of India initiated action against him, the Minorities Commission had raised the issue with the Karnataka Lokayukta in December 2012 but there has been no progress since.
