An 83-year-old heart patient, who was a depositor with the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank died on Friday after his family was unable to withdraw money from the bank for his surgery.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on September 24 put restrictions on withdrawals in the wake of an alleged Rs 4,355 crore scam. The initial withdrawal was capped at Rs. 1,000 which was later hiked to Rs. 40,000.
Murlidhar Dharra’s death is the fourth such death that has been reported post this restriction.
Doctors had suggested heart surgery for Dharra but the family could not withdraw their deposit from the bank. The family had Rs 80 lakh in deposits with the bank.
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51-year-old Sanjay Gulati’s death was the first such death reported. He suffered a cardiac arrest on Monday hours after attending a depositors’ protest. Gulati was employed with Jet Airways and was unemployed since the airlines went bankrupt. He had around Rs. 90 lakh as deposit with the bank.
This was followed by the alleged suicide by Dr. Nivedita Bijlani. As per reports, she had over Rs. 1 crore savings in her PMC Bank account.
Another death was reported of that of Fattomal Punjabi. Punjabi also died of cardiac arrest. Punjabi and Dharra were neighbours.
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