# Congress MLC seeks SIT probe into Mahalaxmi Cooperative Bank fraud 2026-08-20T02:37:40+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Congress MLC B.K. Hariprasad on Wednesday demanded an SIT probe into alleged irregularities of over ₹25 crore at Mahalaxmi Cooperative Bank in Udupi district's Malpe. He told the Legislative Council that fake loan documents were created against customer accounts, and that the bank's chairman is a local BJP MLA. Hariprasad also alleged that the bank manager's recent death by suicide may be a murder involving unknown persons, and called for an administrator to be appointed immediately. Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddy, replying for the Cooperation Minister, termed the case serious and said he would request the government to constitute an SIT for a thorough probe. The demand comes amid concerns over depositor safety in cooperative banks, which fall under state regulation. No decision has been announced yet. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Congress and BJP governments in Karnataka have often used SITs for politically sensitive cases, but appointing one for a cooperative bank is less common. The Mahalaxmi Cooperative Bank operates under the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act, which gives the Registrar of Cooperative Societies powers to supersede the board and appoint an administrator. If an SIT is formed, it will investigate both the loan fraud and the manager's death, the manager's suicide note or post-mortem report could be critical. The bank's depositors and shareholders, many of them small farmers and local traders, stand to lose their savings if the ₹25 crore gap is not recovered. The next hearing in the Legislative Council will indicate whether the government concedes to the SIT demand. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Straight news report, no editorial slant, led with the Congress MLC's allegation and the minister's response without endorsing either side. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: B.K. Hariprasad, Basavaraj Rayareddy, Karnataka Legislative Council, Mahalaxmi Cooperative Bank, Udupi Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/congress-mlc-seeks-sit-probe-into-mahalaxmi-cooperative-bank-fraud/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/congress-mlc-seeks-sit-probe-into-mahalaxmi-cooperative-bank-fraud/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/