India, April 29 -- More than 100 residents of Thane, most of them senior citizens, marched silently towards the bank they had trusted for more than 25 years, pleading with the Vartak Nagar police to let them speak to the authorities there, on Monday morning.

The protestors were all depositors with New India Cooperative Bank.

Many live alone. Some are battling serious health conditions. All have life savings locked up in accounts and fixed deposits here. Some have had to put off surgeries as a result, others are struggling to meet daily expenses.

So, braving the heat, they marched to the bank at 11.30 am.

New India Cooperative Bank has been embroiled in a Rs.122-crore embezzlement case since earlier this year. In March, the Reserve Ban...