Five hours of high voltage drama: Tear gas canisters burst by the police; a woman was injured
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Protest erupted at the divisional commissioner office on Tuesday as hundreds of depositors from four cooperative banks, including Adarsh Credit Society, stormed the divisional commissionerate for five tense hours. Their demand was the immediate return of their frozen savings. The agitation turned violent when police resorted to tear gas, injuring a woman in the melee.
Led by MP Imtiaz Jaleel, the aggrieved depositors arrived at the commissionerate at 11 am. Frustration simmered after months of empty promises and delayed repayments. A delegation, including Jaleel, met divisional commissioner Madhukar Raje Ardad at 3 pm, but talks stalled. Clashes erupted as enraged protesters, denied entry, attempted to breach the security cordon. Jaleel, caught in the scuffle, joined the protest, pushing past officers.
Chaos reigned as protesters flooded the premises. Chants of ‘Return our money!’ echoed the area.
MP Shrikant Shinde intervened
MP Shrikant Shinde intervened and spoke to Jaleel, promising to raise the issue in the upcoming budget session of Parliament. MP Jaleel informed Shinde that the depositors have been protesting for seven months, alleging that they have been given various reasons for the delay in returning their money. They were promised their money back in a month and a half in September, but no concrete answer has been given since then. As many as 22 depositors have committed suicide so far. MP Jaleel has demanded an answer from the administration as to who ordered the use of tear gas on civilians.
Questions raised to Ardad
Finally, at around 7:30 pm, the divisional commissioner came out and met the protesters. Jaleel demanded answers to Ardad on who ordered the tear gas attack on civilians and why there was a continued delay in returning their hard-earned savings. The administration made a promise to return the money till September last year. However, as the money has not returned, the depositors, mostly from rural areas, felt betrayed and abandoned.
Distribution of Chikki by police
The protestors who came from all over the district for the hunger strike were empty stomach till 6 pm. As the divisional commissioner did not come out, the protesters continued their protest. Understanding the condition of the old agitators, deputy commissioner of police Nitin Bagate immediately instructed the employees to provide water and chikki. The police officials were standing for almost 7 hours. As soon as the situation showed signs of getting out of hand, an additional team of police were called.