3 Oct 2007, 0132 hrs IST
TNN The Times of
MUMBAI: The RTI Act has come to the rescue of a 38-year-old Mumbai autorickshaw driver, Prashant Mangaokar, after his trips to the police department and Mantralaya seeking justice, went in vain.
Mangaokar's 60-year-old mother, Suhasini, was a shareholder in a local co-operative credit society at Dahisar. But when a borrower, for whom she had stood guarantee, defaulted on paying the loan instalments, the society's office bearers deducted the amount from her personal deposits.
Within minutes of being informed about the deduction, Suhasini suffered a cardiac arrest and died on April 9. Six months later, Mangaokar has an order passed by the deputy registrar (co-operatives) stating that the credit society's office-bearers had unlawfully deducted the amount directly from her deposits and should refund it to her legal heir.
"The Shreedhar Co-operative Credit Society is located in our neighbourhood at Ghartanpada and its management comprises local residents," Mangaokar said. "My mother trusted the office bearers and didn't think twice when one of them suggested that she stand as guarantor for a borrower, Bhupendra Mundgekar."
Mundgekar had taken a loan of Rs 30,000 in January 2006. But as months passed, he did not repay a single installment.
"There were two people who stood as guarantors for Mundgekar: my mother and one Santosh Pawar. But when he would not pay up, the society's office bearers deducted a sum of Rs 33,815, inclusive of interest, directly from my mother’s deposits. They did not touch the deposits of Pawar, the second guarantor. They did not even give my mother a single notice in writing before deducting the sum," he said.
Suhasini had raised her son single-handedly, doing odd jobs for a living, after her husband's death two decades ago. Most of her savings were invested in the credit society by her.
"My mother had made fixed deposits amounting to Rs 50,000 with the society in 2003. We have the original certificates. On April 9, two of the society's office bearers landed at our house. They took my mother to their office and produced a letter which explained all the deductions. My mother returned and 20 minutes later, she suffered a cardiac arrest. I have since been pleading with the police to consider my complaint," Mangaokar said.
Senior inspector Ravi Thakur of Dahisar police station said they had written to the office of the deputy registrar (co-operatives) and were awaiting a response. "Mangaokar has shown me a copy of the order issued by the deputy registrar's office but we have not received the order copy ourself. We need to study it and can act on it only after that," he said.
Thakur said he has also questioned the credit society’s office-bearers who claimed they had acted as per rules.
When TOI went to the Shreedhar credit society's office at Dahisar for their comments, it was locked.
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