Hunt on for Roshan Vikas directors

Depositors lodge complaint against women’s SHG after they find its office to be closed

Failure of borrowers to repay loans and administrative overheads exceeding the revenue resulted in the financial crisis in women’s self-help group, Roshan Vikas, in the old city, leading to registration of a criminal case, investigators said.
The Hussaini Alam police registered a cheating and misappropriation of funds case against the board of directors of Roshan Vikas in the last week of December following a complaint lodged by 15 depositors. This self-help group was started by some voluntary organisations to support women belonging to the lower economic strata in the old city.

Problems galore

Women’s groups, each comprising 15 members or more, were formed in each locality and each member of the group would contribute Rs. 30 to Rs. 50 a month.
Twenty-five per cent of the sum collected over a specific period of time would be deposited with the main group controlled by the board of directors. The remaining amount would be disbursed among members as loans.
The board of directors tied up with some banks and also secured some group loans ranging from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,00,000.
“However, of late the loan repayment dipped and administrative overheads such as expenses for meetings of the directors and collection and depositing money increased, forcing use of money from the principal amount,” the Hussaini Alam Inspector, J. Venkat Reddy, said.
The controversy over some employees of micro-finance companies forcibly collecting money from borrowers and the government’s direction not to use force for recovering money had an indirect impact on this self-help group’s transactions. Some borrowers stopped clearing their loan amounts, adding to its financial woes, the police said.

Depositors worried

The board of directors is reconstituted every three years.
Interestingly, most of the group members are unaware who the directors are since the field officers deal with them during disbursal of loans and collection of deposits.
Closure of the Roshan Vikas group office at Charminar bus-stop created fears of cheating among the depositors some of whom approached the Hussaini Alam police.
Police are on the lookout for Qutsia Begum of Falaknuma, a director, and believe that her arrest could help in the arrest of the remaining directors.
Meanwhile, the police top brass reportedly decided to transfer the case to the Central Crime Station.