Customers
panic as GTB operations restrained
Hyderabad:
Harried customers lined outside the privately-run Gloal
Trust Bank (GTB) Limited on Sunday after the Centre issued
an order restraining it from making fresh loans without
the central bank's permission. The order, called an Order
of Moratorium, is applicable for three months and it is
the fourth time that such an order has been issued in the
past five years, central bank officials said. The banks
concerned in the earlier cases were Benares State Bank,
Nedungadi Bank Ltd and a regional bank in the state of Gujarat,
they said. Ayappa Naidu, a customer in southern city of
Hyderabad, said they were allowed to withdraw only 10,000
rupees. "As of now we can withdraw only rupees 10,000. Since
yesterday, we are in great tension, after running around
since the whole day, yesterday and today, they have given
us rupees 10,000," said Naidu. "My deposit is above rupees
500,000 and I am very tensed about it. It is very very unfortunate
and I hope that the people of GTB will definitely help us,"
Mahesh Babu, another customer, said.
The order, copies of which were distributed to reporters
by the RBI on Saturday, was passed by the Indian government
as the bank had run up huge losses and the numbers reported
in its audited balance sheet did not match independent and
central bank audit numbers. Analysts say the GTB could now
be merged with other private or public sector banks. Sudhakar
Gande, Managing Director of the Bank, said: "They (Reserve
Bank of India) are looking at the capitalisation programme
of rupees 500 crores (5 billion rupees) and above which
would help the capital requisite requirements and also the
gaps if any and also the capital for growth." The central
bank officials did not give out the latest numbers but said
the bank had deposits of 69.21 billion rupees and loans
of 32.76 billion rupees according to its audited balance
sheet for the fiscal year that ended March 2003.
The
moratorium order takes effect from the close of business
on Saturday and will run through October 23. During this
period, the bank will not be allowed to take on fresh business
and will be allowed only to make those payments which are
necessary for day- to-day operations and to meet obligations
incurred before the moratorium took effect. The order was
issued on a request by the RBI to the government after it
found wide discrepancies between Global Trust Bank's audited
balance sheet and the central bank's own inspection. GTB
was founded in 1994 and is part of a new breed of private
banks set up over the past decade as India opened up its
financial sector. The bank's shares have fallen around 58
percent in 2004, against a 13 percent fall in the Bombay
Stock Exchange's main index and an eight percent drop in
the exchange's banking index.
CBI
takes custody of Maninderpal (Go
To Top)
Jalpaiguri:
The CBI sleuths arrived in Kalimpong to take custody
of Maninderpal Singh Kohli, the main suspect in the rape
and murder of British teenager Hannah Foster. The sleuths
will be assisted in the investigation by cops from Punjab
who also arrived in the town on Sunday. Kohli was caught
near the India-Nepal border in the tea- growing Darjeeling
district in West Bengal, and has been remanded to judicial
custody until July 29 by a local judge. Kohli, a migrant
lorry driver originally, is believed to have fled to India
after he allegedly dumped the body of 17-year-old Foster
on the outskirts of Southampton in March 2003. "The CBI
will take the handover, they will take the handover today
and after that we will get the case," Amardeep Singh Rai,
a senior superintendent of Punjab police, said. CBI would
hand over Kohli to Interpol once the extradition formalities
were complete. Hannah's parents-Trevor and Hilary-had made
an emotional appeal for information leading to the arrest
of the suspect. They set up two hotlines and offered a 5
million rupee ($110,000) reward for information leading
to Kohli's arrest.
Ten
of a Muslim family killed in Bihar (Go
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Bishnupura
(Bihar): At least ten members of an impoverished Muslim
family were shot dead here Saturday. The identity of the
assailants could not be known. Shor Mohammad, who survived
the massacre by pretending to be dead, said motorcycle-borne
goons opened fire on them without any reason. "They came
and opened fire all of a sudden, they have killed 10 of
our family members," he said. The hamlet has around 20 makeshift
dwellings and the deceased had no dispute with anybody,
residents added. Police suspect the massacre was a result
of the ongoing war of supremacy between the Muslims and
upper caste Yadav groups operating in Siwan-Gopalganj districts.
Soren
continues to remain at large (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: Shibu Soren's stronghold of Jaamtara in Jharkhand
remains tense even as the leader remained untraceable. It's
from here that a local court issued a warrant for Soren's
arrest in a 30 year-old case of rioting and murder. And,
now that Soren has resigned as a union minister, there are
fears that his supporters may unleash a wave of protests.
But, so far they have carried out peaceful protest marches.
Meanwhile, the state police have put eight districts on
high alert. These districts are known to be under considerable
political influence of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)
chief.
Soren's
arrest could irk violence; Opposition meets President (Go
To Top)
Ranchi/New
Delhi: JMM leader Stephen Marandi on Sunday said that
the impending arrest of his party boss Shibu Soren, the
erstwhile Union Coal and Mines Minister, could lead to unrest
in the state. Soren, who went underground, had resigned
on Saturday after an arrest warrant was issued against him
on charges of inciting arson and violence during a rally
in 1975. "Today if the police apprehends Shibu Soren in
Delhi, it might lead to bloodshed here. So keeping the public
sentiments in mind, he went into hiding," Marandi told a
news conference in state capital Ranchi. Since the warrant
was issued last Saturday, Soren had not appeared in parliament
or at his ministry. Jharkhand police have searched his New
Delhi home. The charges against Soren relate to the killing
of ten people at Chirudih during the movement for a separate
state of Jharkhand. More than 3,000 people were arrested
for murder but except for Soren and a few others, the rest
have been set free. He was charged a decade ago with receiving
a bribe to support the ruling party in parliament, but was
acquitted.
Meanwhile, NDA leaders led by former deputy PM L.K Advani,
called on the President APJ Abdul Kalam over the issue of
"tainted ministers" in the union cabinet. "We believe that
the issue of tainted ministers should be taken up by the
President himself. He is the constituional head and his
right of advising the government stands uncontested," Advani
later told reporters.
JMM
not joining UPA, but continues to a part of it (Go
To Top)
Ranchi:
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has said it would not
join the Union Cabinet for the time being, but was solidly
behind the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government.
Accusing the BJP of digging up decades old cases against
JMM chief Shibu Soren, party leader and Rajya Sabha member
Stephen Marandi said: "We are not thinking of any ministerial
berth...We are thinking of taking the battle to the BJP
camp for its logical conclusion.'' Soren had resigned on
Saturday on the directions of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singh.
