AGARTALA, April 13 (TIWN): With the banks account frozen and the owner under bars, the fate of the lakhs of depositors of the state who had deposited their last resorts in the chit fund company Rose Valley are in oblivion. The helpless depositors are thronging to the chit fund offices to get back their money but are only returning with dismay. Most of the offices of the chit fund company are either locked or nobody is present in the offices who could satisfy the customers and their queries. It may be mentioned here that the owner of the estimated Rs.20, 0000 crores chit Fund Company is behind bars on charges of illegal money collection from people, the court has permitted him to come outside for solemnizing the last rites after his father’s death. But the court has not made any relaxation about the frozen bank accounts of the chit fund company so far. With the future of the chit fund company seen sinking, the house owners of the various offices of the chit fund company throughout Tripura are pressing hard for their monthly rent but the company is not able to pay the rent ever since the bank accounts were ceased. The situation further turned sour with the CBI officials’ raid in the main office of the Chit fund company here in Agartala last month and the subsequent arrest of the owner in Kolkata. The house owners are now asking the company people to vacate their houses.

Starting from Dharmanagar to Sabroom, from Amarpur to Ambasa, the chit fund company opened their offices for collecting money from the market with promises of rosy returns. The house owners now repent their past deed when they agreed to give their houses on rent to the chit fund company on hefty rent to run the business from their houses.

The main Rose Valley office in the state here in Agartala which was under scanner ever since its erection for violating state building rules was disconnected of power supply and water connection by the authority very recently after the CBI raid. The news channel run by the chit fund company from Agartala also stopped its transmission after the raid.

Under pressure from the depositors, the agents of the chit fund company are running from their home fearing attacks on them. “I am an educated unemployed and collected lakhs of rupees from the people of my locality promising them of higher returns but now I am helpless when the depositors pressurizes me to return their money, I have no other option but to sell off the only ancestral homeland I am having and pay back the money”, said Nirmal Debnath of Old Agartala area here.

Many other Nirmals are also having the same strenuous condition but may not have the capacity to pay back their customers like Nirmal. The fate of such agents cannot be imagined and they will have no other option but to run away from their places leaving behind whatever belongings they have or to go underground at best if not the worst. Very recently, the state government had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under orders from the Agartala High Court to investigate into the chit fund cases of the state but there is no step taken by the government to return the money of the depositors like the West Bengal Government who formed a Rs. 500 crores fund to help depositors through repay after the Sarada scam.

Formation of such fund from the state government side is the demand pressed forward by the opposition parties here in Tripura but the government so far is maintaining a deaf ear to the demand.  

The rosy business which was once cherished by the top bosses of the ruling government is blinking in the state and the alleged closeness of the top bosses are under scanner and CBI action in the matter is only a matter of time if the same investigation agency goes ahead with the investigation in the state. Only time will say what will be the fate of the depositors, the agents, the political bosses and the chit fund cmpany as a whole. But till then we will have to keep our fingers crossed.