By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Sept. 7: The operators of a cooperatives in Kathmandu have been absconding for the past one month after cheating about 500 depositors of Rs. 50 million.
Nearly three dozens victims had reached Metropolitan Police Range, Teku, to file written complaints seeking action against Dibyamantra Saving and Credit Cooperatives Limited, Mid-Baneshwore, Kathmandu.
The cooperatives’ head office is located at Katyanichowk in Mid-Baneshwore and one of its branch offices is in Thamel. All offices have been shut down without informing the depositors, police said.
“We came to know about the incident after money collectors did not come to collect money from the members of the cooperative for two weeks,” said Navaraj Adhikari, a member of the cooperatives, who had deposited Rs. 3.5 million in the cooperative in the last four years.
According to him, no official, including the chairman and executive of the cooperatives, are receiving their phone calls.
Meanwhile, Police Inspector Krishna Chand, who has been investigating the case at the Metropolitan Police Range, Teku, said that they were investigating the case giving utmost priority to the grievances and urges of the victims.
Every day, dozens of victims have been visiting the police office seeking their money back, he said.
“We will not let the offenders go escort free, we will definitely nab them one day,” he said. According to Chand, the police office had arrested some of the employees of the cooperatives but were released later after necessary grilling. All seven board members, including chairman Rajan Putuwar, are at large as of today.
Other board members of the cooperatives include, Vice-chairman Kishore Bahadur Khatri, Secretary Dilli Bahadur Khatri, Treasurer Madhusudan Shrestha, and members Om Kumar Khatri, Tsange Dolma Lama and Prem Maharjan. Rajan Putuwar, is a permanent resident of Goldhunga in Balaju of Kathmandu, while the Khatri trio are from Okhaldunga and are temporarily residing in Bhaktapur.
Victim Adhiakri said that they had also lodged a complaint at the Department of Co-operatives under the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation.
Following the visit at the Department, many victims who had gone to lodge complaint at the Department came to know that the cooperatives was not holding their annual general meeting for past few years, victim Adhikari said.
Though, Rajan Putuwar used to operate the office identifying himself as chairman of the cooperative, the registration of the cooperatives in the department showed that the real owner or chairman was Rajan’s own father Ram Putuwar. The victims also told that they had never seen Ram Putuwar as chairman of the cooperatives in the office when they visited the cooperatives to draw the money.