Mysuru
Krishnaraja Assembly MLA T.S. Srivatsa on Monday demanded the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a comprehensive probe into the alleged multi-crore SDJ/DJF Gold financial scam, involving transactions of more than 600 kg of gold.
Addressing a press conference here, Srivatsa said hundreds of investors had been pushed into severe financial distress following the alleged fraud. The issue came to wider public attention after DGP& IGP Dr M.A.Saleem issued a notification asking affected investors to lodge formal complaints.Police subsequently arrested the prime accused, Chinna Thambi, and five to six associates. However, their release on bail after about six to eight weeks in judicial custody had caused considerable disappointment and anger among the victims. The situation turned tense recently when a group of aggrieved investors allegedly vandalised the office premises of the accused in Mysuru. Srivatsa condemned the incident and appealed to victims not to resort to violence or take the law into their own hands. “Destroying property or indulging in violence will not help recover the lost money or gold. Instead, such acts could lead to criminal cases against the victims themselves,” he warned.
The MLA said efforts were already under way through legal channels to secure the interests of the affected investors. A legal team representing around 75 victims has initiated proceedings under the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments (KPID) Act, 2006. Following the proceedings, the Assistant Commissioner of Mysuru has reportedly been designated as the competent authority to identify and attach properties belonging to Chinna Thambi and his associates for recovery of the investors’ money.
Srivatsa, however, questioned how an alleged operation involving more than 600 kg of gold could have continued within the jurisdiction of the Kuvempunagar Police Station without timely detection or intervention. He sought accountability for any lapses in monitoring and investigation.
He said the matter would be raised in the coming session of the State Legislative Assembly through an Attention-Calling Motion, urging the government to constitute an independent SIT which should investigate the alleged network across districts and States, identify the middlemen and other persons involved, fix responsibility for lapses and ensure speedy recovery of the victims’ investments. The authorities must expedite the court-monitored liquidation of attached properties and ensure that the proceeds are returned to the affected depositors at the earliest.
