The Aryavarth Express Bengaluru: A decade-old charity event organised by Karnataka Marwari Samaj has come under a cloud after documents reviewed by The Aryavarth Express revealed glaring discrepancies between the organisation’s official bank records and a widely publicised donation made during the programme.
The organisation, registered under the Societies Registration Act as “Karnataka Marwari Samaj” (Registration No. SOR/BLU/DR/552/10-11) in 2010–11, has for years organised social and cultural programmes in Bengaluru claiming to support charitable causes. But financial documents and testimonies accessed by The Aryavarth Express now raise serious questions about the transparency of at least one such event.
The programme at the centre of the controversy is a “Hasya Kavi Sammelan” organised on March 7, 2015, at the Princess Green Hall, Palace Grounds, to mark Marwari Sangha Day. The event, attended by community members and donors, was projected as a charity initiative to fund a dialysis machine for Maharaja Agrasen Hospital in Padmanabhanagar.
By all accounts, the evening was grand. According to estimates by organisers and attendees, ₹45–50 lakh was spent on hosting the event, which included prominent guests, elaborate arrangements, and cultural performances.
At the culmination of the programme, the organisers publicly announced that a cheque of ₹31 lakh Cheque No. 112131 had been issued to the hospital for the purchase of the dialysis machine. The cheque reportedly bore the signature of the then president of the organisation, Anand Agarwal.
However, scrutiny of the 2014–15 financial records of the association paints a starkly different picture.
Documents accessed by The Aryavarth Express show that the society’s bank statement for the entire financial year records transactions totalling around ₹17 lakh, far less than the amount publicly claimed to have been donated at the event.
For a registered society, all funds collected for programmes are expected to pass through the organisation’s bank account and be reflected in audited financial statements. Yet, the records examined show no clear accounting of the large sums that appear to have been raised and spent for the programme.
Sources familiar with the event claim that donations collected from businessmen and community members for the programme may have exceeded ₹1.25 crore, much of it allegedly received in cash. These claims, however, find no corresponding entry in the society’s official financial documents.
The mystery deepens over the ₹31 lakh cheque presented during the programme. While representatives associated with Maharaja Agrasen Hospital have said the cheque was received during the event, sources suggest that the cheque may not have been successfully cleared through banking channels.
When contacted by The Aryavarth Express, Anand Agarwal, who was president of the association at the time, did not provide a clear explanation regarding the discrepancies. He reportedly stated that he was not fully aware of the details surrounding the financial transactions linked to the programme.
Attempts were also made to obtain clarification from the current office-bearers of Karnataka Marwari Samaj, but no definitive explanation was offered regarding the difference between the publicly announced donation and the financial figures recorded in the society’s accounts.
The role of Dinesh Krejriwal, who is said to have coordinated the programme at the time, has also come under scrutiny among members of the organisation, though he has not issued a public response to the allegations.
Transparency Questions
The documents reviewed by The Aryavarth Express raise troubling questions about how a society with ₹17 lakh in recorded annual transactions could publicly issue a ₹31 lakh cheque during a single event, and why the details of donations collected for the programme do not appear in the official bank statements.
Financial experts say that registered societies are legally required to maintain transparent records of all donations and expenditures, particularly when public fundraising is conducted in the name of charity.
Calls for Probe
Members of the community and legal observers say the discrepancies merit an independent inquiry into the financial dealings of the organisation.
If the donations were indeed collected in large amounts, they argue, the source of the funds, the mode of collection, and the final utilisation must be clearly documented.
Until those answers emerge, the questions surrounding the 2015 Palace Grounds charity event — and the financial practices of Karnataka Marwari Samaj — remain unresolved.
