Sounds of a shrill protest shook up a neighbourhood in the upscale Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri on a sleepy Sunday morning as men and women — a good number of them senior citizens — marched through the locality demanding justice.
Around noon, they reached the residence of Waryam Singh, former chairman of the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, asking that the harshest punishment — death — be meted out to him.
The protesters were depositors and account holders of the bank, which is embroiled in a ₹4,355 crore fraud. Mr. Singh has been named as a key conspirator in the fraud and is in judicial custody.
On Sunday, the protest more than piqued the interest of the residents of the locality, who are primarily film and television stars, far removed from agitations of any sort. But this time, it was at their door.
Initially, the residents stood at a safe distance from the protesters, who burned a photograph of Mr. Singh with shouts of “ Waryam chor hai (Waryan is a thief)”, after thrashing it with slippers and proceeding to step and spit on it. Mobile cameras were out in full force.
A resident approached the protesters and gingerly asked, “Who is this man whose picture you have garlanded with slippers. Does he live here?” The protesters lost no time in educating him about the case. “Waryam. Uske naam ki puja chal rahi hai (A puja is being held in his name),” a protester said, sarcastically.
A youngster, who came out in his shorts and T-shirt to watch the commotion, identified himself as an actor. He had no clue what PMC Bank, or much less, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was all about. “My parents would know all this,” he said, before one of the protesters gave him a quick lesson on financial frauds.
Not all residents were as clueless, though. Rupak Sharma said he had seen the protesters coming to Mr. Singh’s residence and demanding the release of their money earlier as well. “But nothing has been done till date. Till the government takes a concrete step, nothing can be done to get the money back,” he said.
The protesters had to picket outside the society gate, which the security guards promptly shut when they saw the crowd approaching. A few society office-bearers were seen engaging with the protesters. A protester went up to a policeman on duty. “My sister is widowed, with two kids. All our money is gone, sir,” he said, and the policeman nodded. He then politely explained how they could not trespass into private property. The protester thanked the policeman for being understanding.
Anita Lohia, a social activist who led the protest, said the agitation was aimed at shaming Mr. Singh and his family. “They should feel ashamed for cheating people of their money when they enter their own society. We have been on the streets for the past three months and his family is enjoying meals with our money,” she said.
“The housing society should know such people live here. Apparently he owes the society ₹1 crore in dues and has just bought a car worth ₹7 crore. It’s our money, right?” asked Rajkumar, a retired serviceman.
A.S. Mehta (62), said his family was dependent on gurudwaras for food. “If we didn’t have those, we would have starved to death.”
The protesters and some residents were also critical of the RBI and government. Gurvinder Singh, a protester who runs a transport business, said, “The RBI is definitely a part of this scam. The Centre has given them full authority to cheat people of their money.”
A retired bank chief executive, who identified himself only as Krishnan, empathised with the protesters. “Unfortunately, the courts in India take the side of the RBI and put the blame on depositors. Depositors’ money in banks is national wealth. It is the government’s duty to protect those funds. The RBI has played a major part in this scam by keeping silent,” he said. He also said an independent authority should audit the RBI.
The protesters dispersed a few hours later, but were back by sunset, where they burnt Mr. Singh’s photograph again. This time, the slogans were louder, the crowd of onlookers bigger. “ Biwi bachche bahar aao, hamara paisa wapas do (Mr. Singh’s wife and children, come out, return our money),” they said.
For them, it was important to keep up the pressure. “Sometimes, we also wonder whether there’s any point. But it’s only when you keep hammering, that the stone will break,” said Mr. Mehta.
Whether or not they got the government’s attention, the protesters had definitely roused the conscience of residents in a quiet, leafy colony in the suburbs.
