Another depositor of fraud-hit PMC Bank dies, protesters vent ire on social media

A 71-year-old depositor of fraud- hit PMC Bank died of a heart attack at his residence here, his relative said on Friday. Pratap Jiandani suffered a heart attack on Thursday afternoon at his residence in suburban Mulund, he said. Earlier, at least eight depositors, who had a high quantum of money stuck with the bank, had died in the last couple of months, including one who committed suicide. The relative said Jiandani had an account in Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank), which was put under restrictions by the RBI in September after an alleged Rs 4,355 crore scam came to light.

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RBI-mandated curbs on withdrawal of money

However, his death was nothing to do with the bank scam, said Jiandani's relative Mukesh Chhandiramani. Jiandani's son is returning from Spain after which his last rites will be performed, he said. Some of the PMC depositors who died in the aftermath of the scam were under stress due to the RBI-mandated curbs. On October 14, PMC Bank depositor Gurudas Kaisare, a resident of Airoli in Navi Mumbai, died due to stress as he was not able to withdraw his money. He was admitted for treatment, but was not able to access money to pay medical bills, said his relatives.

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Another depositor, Kuldeep Kaur Vig, died of a heart attack in neighbouring Navi Mumbai in the first week of November, her family said. Vig (64), a resident of Kharghar, was worried about her money getting stuck with the bank and feeling stressed after watching news about depositors protest on TV, her husband Varinder Singh Vig (74) said. As part of RBI's restrictions, withdrawal from PMC Bank accounts was initially capped at Rs 1,000 and raised in a staggered manner to Rs 50,000 per customer over six months.

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HDIL scam

The PMC Bank, which has around 16 lakh depositors, was placed under an RBI administrator on September 23 for six months due to massive under-reporting of dud loans. The bank, over a long period of time, had given more than Rs 6,700 crore in loans to Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL), which is 73% of its total advances, and which turned sour with a shift in the fortunes of the now-bankrupt company. On social media, the PMC protesters have made their voice count. In one such video uploaded on Twitter, a person is seen crying on the footsteps of a PMC Bank branch. He appears in distress as he is unable to withdraw a sufficient amount of money.

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(With PTI inputs)

Note: Republic TV does not vouch for the authenticity of the Twitter video.