PMC Bank depositors will stage a protest outside the Esplanade Court, against a bail application of one of the accused, even as the Economic Offences Wing has requested the depositors to maintain law and order.
Contacted by BusinessLine, an official in the EOW, said, “The depositors are taking these actions based on rumours, led by a few people. We have on multiple occasions requested the depositors to keep their calm, as the police and the judiciary are doing their job.”
He further added that the bail application was only for one accused, Surjeet Singh Arora. In the said case, Joy Thomas, managing director, Waryam Singh, former chairman of PMC Bank, and Rakesh and Sarang Wadhwan, promoters of Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd, have been arrested for alleged criminal breach of trust and fraud. All the five accused were in police custody and had been sent to judicial custody.
The police official further added, “If the accused is applying for bail, we will obviously file a stay application against it. If he is granted bail on merit here, we will appeal in higher courts against his bail application.”
The Wadhwans have already given the authorities approval to sell their assets, in order to repay their loan. The Wadhwans are accused of fraudulently availing of loans and cheating the bank to the tune of Rs 4,355 crore.
Meanwhile, according to a Business Standard report, the probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had revealed that the Wadhwans had allegedly diverted Rs 160 crore of loan from PMC to three Delhi-based hotels belonging to Libra Hotels.
Rakesh Wadhwan is both a director and a shareholder in the hotel. According to the report, Libra Hotels, the parent firm, has three hotels — Hotel Conclave Executive, Hotel Conclave, and Hotel Conclave Comfort. Libra Hotels is run by Rakesh’s daughter Romy Pawan Mehra and her husband Pawan Mehra. Both are directors of this firm.