NFL closure dashes dreams of families

S Mokaiah, who lives in Kolkata, invested Rs 20,000 in NFL lured by higher rates of interest. But with NFL not returning the deposits on maturity, his dream to see his son getting an MBA remains unfulfilled.

"Mokaiah invested Rs 20,000 at an interest of 15 per cent annually on October 14, 1996 for a period of three years. He saved it for his son Neelakantam's higher education," says his brother-in-law K Venkat Rao, a native of Srikakulam.

According to Rao, the family knocked at the doors of the NFL office in Kolkata in vain for the refund of the deposit. They even got their financial position vouched by the then Titagarh Municipality councillor S Dalayya.

NFL had two branches in Kolkata and both of them downed their shutters in 2001. Mokaiah, whose deposits matured in October 1999, was asked to visit the corporate office in Hyderabad. The family visited the office here twice including once in April 2003 and got a written assurance from one KS Chandrasekar at the NFL office, who asked him to come again in September.

"Had the money come at the right time, it would have helped the family that was mired in financial problems,'' says Venkat Rao. After losing his job at a jute mill, Mokaiah failed to raise money for starting a small business. His son had to discontinue studies due to financial constraints.

"Though Neelakantam has got himself a job, his MBA dream remained unfulfilled," adds Rao. Rao came to know about the arrest of NFL directors on the internet and reached the company's old office at here, only to find it no longer exists.

After a few enquiries, he learnt they were being produced before the Nampally Court and reached there with all documents.

"We are not keen on what the court will do with the NFL directors. We only hope that our money is returned,'' said Venkat Rao.

Another victim V Venkateshwar Rao, a resident of Guntur, had invested Rs 6,000 on May 28, 1997, (No C45108000378) and was expecting Rs 12,000 at the end of four years. But that was not to be. He too reached Hyderabad immediately after he learnt about their arrests.

Another resident from Guntur Venkateshwar too met with the same fate. His family had invested Rs 5 lakh in NFL. "My father, who was an agriculturist, put his lifetime savings in NFL. He expected the money would double in four years,'' he said. Though he has now shifted to Hyderabad, the amount still means a lot for the family. ''We want our money back,'' is his demand.