Victims of the AgriGold scam on Wednesday began a 36-hour-long protest at Sri Venkateswara Vignana Mandiram here demanding that the State government release ₹4,000 crore to make good their losses they have suffered after the company shut its offices.
Led by CPI State joint secretary Muppala Nageswara Rao, over 5,000 men and women squatted under pandals braving the energy-sapping heat.
They were provided lunch and dinner by the CPI leaders and on Thursday, the group will march to the Secretariat at Velagapudi. The Guntur Urban Police, after initially refusing permission for the rally, later relented and asked them to choose Amaravathi Road for holding the march.
‘Onus is on A.P. govt’
“The AgriGold chit fund scam is the biggest of its kind in the history of the country. Data show that 21.14 lakh households in A.P. enrolled in the chit funds and 12 lakh more enrolled in seven States. The company owes ₹6,380 crore to its customers in A.P. Unable to bear the loss, 144 persons committed suicide. The A.P. government paid ₹5 lakh ex gratia to 100 families, and we are waiting for sanction for payments to others too. But with the proposed auction of AgriGold properties being put on back burner, the victims are again in despair,’’ said Mr. Nageswara Rao.
The AP CID, which has taken up investigation, has already arrested the prime accused Avva Sitarama Rao, brother of chairman Venkata Rama Rao.
“We have information that property worth thousands of crores is registered in the name of several relatives. We demand that the A.P. government start auctioning the properties and refund the customers, who have invested all their hard-earned savings believing that their investments would be doubled,’’ said Mr. Nageswara Rao.
