Date:26/05/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/05/26/stories/2005052616710400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Ex-TDP MLA held on cheating charge

Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD: The Kukatpally police on Wednesday arrested the former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA and chairperson of Kanyakaparameshwari Co-operative Urban Bank, Grandhi Madhavi, and a director, B.V.N. Raju, on charge of cheating the bank's customers.

A group of irate bank account holders, including some women, tried to manhandle the arrested duo at the Kukatpally police station accusing it of duping them of their savings. The Kukatpally police had registered a cheating case against the bank's board of directors on May 2 this year when a client approached them saying that the demand draft taken from the co-operative bank had been rejected by another bank.

RBI probe

The bank ran into trouble five months ago due to accumulation of non-performing assets and failure in recovery of loans. The Reserve Bank of India had ordered an inquiry into the bank's transactions. Simultaneously, the State Government too is conducting a probe into the bank's affairs through the cooperative officials.

The Kukatpally Inspector, Radha Kishan, said that the chairman and director were arrested for not ensuring that other banks honoured the demand drafts drawn from their bank. A separate case would be booked, if they were found at fault, based on the final reports of the ongoing inquiries by the RBI and the cooperative officials, he said.