Hyderabad: Workers, Sahara investors protest against SEBI

Hyderabad: Workers and investors of Sahara together staged a protest against SEBI at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park in Hyderabad.

The protestors said that both the workers and the investors were linked with Sahara through some scheme or the other and have been earning from Sahara India for the past 25 to 30 years. But due to the embargo imposed over the entire Sahara Group by Supreme Court over the past eight years owing to the Sahara-Sebi dispute, the payments were delayed, which effected their earnings, they stated. "So much so that our investors are not giving us new business as their old repayments are delayed. This has led to our income dwindling to near negligible. As a result, lakhs of our karyakartas are now on the brink of starvation and unemployment,' they lamented.

'Over the past eight years, SEBI has repaid merely Rs 125 crore, with interest, despite taking out four rounds of advertisements in regional and national newspapers. In a status report submitted at the beginning of this year with Supreme Court, SEBI has acknowledged it. In response to SEBI's advertisement published on 26.03.2018, it received repayment applications from 19,598 investors. These came attached with original applications. In response, SEBI repaid 16,663 applications which came to Rs 125 crores with interest. This shows that all investors didn't approach SEBI for repayment.' And why would they when they have already received their dues, the protestors pointed out.

But due to SEBI's stubborn attitude, lakhs of our karyakartas were facing troubles, they said. When SEBI has no pending repayment left for any investor at present, it should submit an affidavit that it has no investors awaiting repayments, they said. 'Then it may lead to Supreme Court lifting the embargo placed over all the Sahara companies, and Sahara receiving Rs 24,000 crore (with interest) from the Sahara-SEBI account. This will mean regular repayments to all esteemed investors and depositors, the workers and the investors of Sahara stated.