BJP MP Tejasvi Surya Faces Investor Ire Over Guru Raghavendra Bank Scam, Leaves Event (image-X/Tejasvi_Surya)Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya encountered a tense situation during an election campaign event on Sunday. Investors affected by the multi-crore scam involving Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank Niyamitha demanded answers and expressed their displeasure, heckling the BJP MP. The incident led to Surya leaving the venue.
The event, held at the Laxmanrao Imandar auditorium, witnessed investors confronting Surya and other leaders, including Basavanagudi BJP legislator L. A. Ravi Subramanya, regarding their delay in compensating them for their losses in the bank scam. However, despite efforts to calm the investors, their dissatisfaction with the responses remained evident.
The Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank Niyamitha is a co-operative bank at Basavangudi.
Videos from the event show the BJP MP being escorted out of the venue by his security personnel as Surya argued with some of the discontented investors who walked up to him and asked questions.
The incident unfolded amidst growing frustration among investors who have not yet received full compensation for their deposits exceeding Rs 6 lakh, stemming from the alleged misappropriation of approximately Rs 2,500 crore by the bank management.
The scam, which came to light in 2020 when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed withdrawal restrictions on the bank, affected over 45,000 depositors. Although many received the Rs 5 lakh insurance amount from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation, over 15,000 investors with deposits exceeding Rs 6 lakh remain uncompensated.
The Enforcement Directorate’s investigation into the fraud led to the attachment of the bank’s properties worth Rs 159 crore, pointing to substantial financial irregularities and collusion among the bank’s management and others involved in siphoning off funds.
In response to the magnitude of the scam, the Karnataka government initiated a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in December last year.