PMC Bank Crisis: Another Depositor Dies of Heart Attack; Three Deaths Within 24 Hours

A depositor named Fattomal Punjabi died of heart attack on Tuesday, taking the number of deaths linked to the bank crisis to three.

Thane: Account holders of PMC bank protest at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' rally in Thane, Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: Another Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank depositor named Fattomal Punjabi died of heart attack on Tuesday, taking the number of deaths linked to the bank crisis to three. So far three depositors have passed away within a period of 24 hours. The deaths which come about three weeks after the RBI imposed a curb on withdrawals, include two cases of heart attack and one of alleged suicide. Punjabi's family alleged that he was under stress following the crisis in PMC Bank. On Monday evening, Dr Nivedita Bijlani (39), allegedly ended her life. Bijlani, a post-graduate in medicine, allegedly ended her life by taking overdose of sleeping pills at her residence in suburban Versova late Monday evening, police said, adding that she had deposits of over Rs 1 crore with the bank. However, the police also said that Bijlani, who had remarried recently, suffered from chronic depression, and had also tried to end her life earlier when she was in the US. No suicide note has been found, and further investigations are on, officials said. Earlier on Monday, a 51-year-old former employee of Jet Airways, Sanjay Gulati, who had deposits worth Rs 90 lakh in the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank, died hours after participating in a protest rally by depositors here. Gulati had deposits in the Oshiwara branch of the Bank and is survived by his wife and two children. Last month, the RBI restricted the activities of the PMC Bank for six months and asked it to not grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment or incur any liability, including borrowing of funds and acceptance of fresh deposits. PMC Bank is a multi-state scheduled urban cooperative bank with operations in Maharashtra, New Delhi, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. With a network of 137 branches, it ranks among the top 10 cooperative banks in the country.