PMC Bank scam: 80-year-old dies of heart-attack after son couldn't withdraw money for surgery

An 80-year-old Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank account holder died of a heart attack on Friday, taking the total number of deaths to four after the scam was unearthed. The deceased has been identified as Muralidhar Dhara, a resident of Mulund in Mumbai. His son told India Today TV that his father died because he couldn't withdraw his money from his PMC Bank account for heart surgery.

He added his father was unwell for a long time and that doctors had asked him for bypass surgery. However, he could not withdraw money after the Reserve Bank of India put restrictions on cash withdrawal from the bank.

Two days ago, an account holder of the PMC Bank, who had Rs 90 lakh deposited in the bank, died of a cardiac arrest after participating in a protest. The 51-year-old man, identified as Sanjay Gulati, was a resident of Taporewala Gardens in Mumbai's Oshiwara. He held an account in the local Oshiwara branch of the bank.

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Gulati, 51, was an employee of the now-defunct airline Jet Airways. When the airline shut down its operation in April, he was fired from the company. On Monday, he was among 200 customers who staged a protest outside the Mumbai court. After returning home, he suffered a heart attack while having food and died on the spot. He was rushed to the Kokilaben Hospital, but to no avail.

A Mumbai-based doctor, who was a PMC Bank customer, committed suicide on October 16. Nivedita Bijlani, 39, committed suicide by taking sleeping pills. The Mumbai Police that's looking into the incident, however, ruled out the possibility that the death could be related to the PMC Bank scam.

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PMC Bank had provided loans to the embattled HDIL and its subsidiaries despite being aware of the dismal financials of the company. After the matter came to light last September, the RBI imposed operational restrictions on the lender.

Meanwhile, the central bank on Monday increased the withdrawal limit to Rs 40,000 from Rs 25,000 earlier. With the above relaxation, more than 77 per cent of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their entire account balance, it added.

The Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai Police had lodged an FIR in the PMC Bank case on September 30. The ED, which is also investigating the case, has attached movable and immovable assets of HDIL, its directors, promoters, PMC Bank officials and others in the case.

Edited by Manoj Sharma

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