KFA ex-employees protest against Mallya, seek dues

Even as lenders turned the heat on beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya, former employees from his long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines on Wednesday staged a protest here, seeking help from the government and the Supreme Court to ensure quick disbursal of their outstanding salaries and dues.

Hundreds of employees who once worked for Kingfisher have not received their remuneration and service benefits since the luxury carrier grounded in October 2012, following a major financial crisis with huge loans and payment defaults, including to oil companies, airports and tax authorities.

About 30 employees staged a protest at the Kingfisher House near the domestic airport here, demanding that their pending salaries and dues be paid. The protest came even as reports said that Mallya had left the country a week ago. The employees also alleged that they were under scanner of tax authorities as Kingfisher had failed to deposit the TDS with the Income Tax department.

“Our TDS was deducted by the company, but the same has not been paid to the tax department, as a result of which we are being served with tax notices now,” said Anirudha Ballal, an ex-employee of Kingfisher.

“We want that the government, the Supreme Court and the debt recovery tribunal to take initiative to make Mallya pay the dues,” he said.

The employees have alleged that Mallya, who has been giving them false promises, has been able go away scot-free by eliciting “political favours”.