Kingfisher employees write to PM Narendra Modi, ask why dues owed by Vijay Mallya were given precedence over unpaid salaries

Kingfisher Airlines Ltd’s (KAL) employees have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging their salary woes, and asking the government to bring KAL founder, CEO and Chairman Vijay Mallya to India to face the courts, according to a media report. The staffers said Mallya should be punished for his ‘crimes’ including “abetment of suicide, as a deterrent for others and to restore faith in the law”, the  ANI reported. The letter, which was also addressed to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj questioned as to why dues owed by Mallya to banks were given precedence over their unpaid salaries. “Please take this letter from us as a representation from [the] helpless common man of India [and] not just from the Kingfisher employees ( It is an irony but we are still on the payrolls of the defunct airlines),” the employees were quoted as saying in the letter by The Hindu Business Line. [caption id=“attachment_4296469” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file image of fugitive liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya. PTI.[/caption] Frustrated employees also said that they are unable to withdraw their provident fund amount as Kingfisher’s liquidation process is under way. Meanwhile, a special court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of Mallya for his alleged involvement in a case of money laundering, and cheating a consortium of banks of over Rs 6,000 crore. Special Judge MS Azmi of the anti-money laundering court issued a non-bailable warrant for Mallya’s arrest, taking cognisance of a fresh charge sheet filed against him and others by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court also issued summons to Mallya’s firms, KAL and United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL), before adjourning the hearing in the case to 30 July. The ED had last year filed its first charge sheet against Mallya, now in London, in the alleged Rs 900 crore IDBI Bank-Kingfisher Airlines loan fraud case. With inputs from PTI