Rs 90 lakh stuck in scam-hit PMC bank, man dies of stress

Mumbai, October 15

A customer with around Rs 90 lakh in the crisis-hit Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank Ltd has died.

Sanjay Gulati had already lost his job earlier this year following the collapse of the Jet Airways, and now restrictions on his hard-earned savings may have taken away his life.

With a specially-abled son at home, Gulati needed regular cash in hand for his treatment and care, which became impossible after the RBI placed stringent limits on cash withdrawals by the bank's depositors.

The 51-year-old Gulati took part in a protest on Monday against the harsh limits put on the account holders of the PMC bank, which is embroiled in a Rs 3,830 crore scam.

Already facing an unsure future ever since the collapse of the Jet Airways six months ago, Gulati on Monday afternoon returned home to Oshiwara suburb after participating in a demonstration with some 200 other customers against the PMC Bank scam in south Mumbai.

As Gulati was eating, he suddenly suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to the nearby Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

According to another customer, Gulati and his family members hold deposits worth around Rs 90 lakh in the Oshiwara Branch of PMC Bank, which has been frozen after the Reserve Bank of India's action last month.

Disturbed since the past few days by the developments, he had joined the protest rally on Monday afternoon outside a Mumbai court where the prime accused -- former chairman of PMC Bank, S. Waryam Singh, Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) directors Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhavan -- were produced.

It may be recalled that after the scam erupted on September 23, the RBI had imposed wide-ranging sanctions on the PMC Bank and barred people from withdrawing more than Rs 1000 initially; later it was raised to Rs 25,000 and on Monday (October 14) to Rs 40,000.

Coming ahead of the festival season, the RBI's decisions had faced flak from various quarters even as the restrictions will continue till February 2020, leading to huge distress among the customers and depositors, besides panic in business and banking circles.

Gulati's funeral was held here at the Andheri west crematorium on Tuesday afternoon and was attended by his family -- elderly parents, his wife, sister and other relatives, besides other PMC Bank customers.

IANS