Depositor of scam-hit PMC Bank ends life, another dies of heart attack

Agencies
October 16, 2019

Mumbai, Oct 16: A depositor of scam-hit PMC Bank allegedly committed suicide here, while another died of a heart attack a few hours after taking part in a protest by bank customers seeking their money back.

Dr Nivedita Bijlani (39), who allegedly ended life on Monday evening, and Sanjay Gulati (51) who died of a heart attack on the same day, had deposits of over Rs 90 lakh each with the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank.

The bank has been put under restrictions by the RBI following the discovery of a Rs 4,355 crore scam. Deposit withdrawals have been capped at Rs 40,000 over a six-month period, causing panic and distress among depositors.

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.

Sanjay Gulati had lost his job with Jet Airways after the airline was grounded in April following bankruptcy.

He has a specially-abled son whose treatment requires over Rs 25,000 a month, and they were struggling to pay his tuition fees, family members said.

Accompanied by his 80-year-old father, Sanjay participated in the depositors’ protest in south Mumbai on Monday morning. Later, while having a late lunch at his house in suburban Oshiwara, he collapsed, his family said.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital which declared him dead. “He had lost his job and was extremely stressed for the last few days after the bank crisis. He feared we will not get any of our money back,” wife Bindu Gulati told reporters.

Sanjay’s father said they had a deposit of over Rs 90 lakh with the bank.

“Many retired people have their accounts there, many are struggling. How do you run the house? People have deposits ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 2 crore stuck at PMC Bank. One of my friends was to undergo operation,” a senior citizen participating in a candlelight march outside Gulati’s home said on Tuesday evening.

On Monday evening -- the same day Gulati and Bijlani died -- the withdrawal cap was hiked from Rs 1,000 to Rs 40,000, with the RBI saying it will give relief to 77 per cent of depositors.

Real estate firm HDIL allegedly accounted for 70 per cent of the bank’s Rs 9,000 crore advances. According to the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing, HDIL’s loans turned Non-Performing Assets, but the bank management hid this from the RBI’s scrutiny.

Meanwhile, ruling Shiv Sena’s Members of Parliament Rahul Shewale, Gajanan Kirtikar, Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai called on RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, and requested the RBI to merge PMC Bank with a state-run lender like Bank of Baroda or Punjab National Bank, or with a private sector one like ICICI Bank or HDFC Bank.

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News Network
April 5,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 5: Eight more COVID-19 positive cases were reported from Kerala on Sunday, four among whom attended the Tablighi Jamat congregation in Delhi and six people were cured, Health Minister K K Shailaja said.

With this, the total number of affected people under treatment in the state has gone up to 256, she said.

"Out of the eight cases, five are from Kozhikode, and one each from Pathanamthitta, Kannur and Kasaragod districts.

In the case of Kozhikode, four out of the five returned from Nizammuddin meet and one from Dubai.

As of date, 10 people who had returned from Nizammuddin in Delhi have been tested positive," the minister said in a release

A total of 314 cases have been reported from Kerala so far and 56 people have been cured, she said

"We have sent 10,221 samples for testing," she said.

A total of 1.58 lakh people are under observation in the state, out of which 776 are in isolation wards in hospitals.

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News Network
February 3,2020

New Delhi, Feb 3: In the third such incident inside of a week, two unidentified persons opened fire outside Gate No. 5 of Jamia Millia Islamia on Sunday night, the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) said.

A statement issued by the committee, a group comprising students and alumni of the university formed to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, said the attackers were on a red Rcooty.

No one was injured in the attack. One of the miscreants was wearing a red jacket, the statement said.

"Firing has taken place at Gate No.5 of Jamia Millia Islamia right now by two unidentified persons. As per report, one of them was wearing a red jacket and driving a red Scooty having vehicle no. 1532 or 1534," the statement said.

Police said they were verifying the JCC's claims.

Asim Mohammed Khan, former Congress MLA from Okhla, said the incident occurred around 11.30 pm. "We heard the gunshot. That is when we stepped out to see and the two men left on a Scooty," a student said.

"We have taken down the vehicle number and called police," he added.

This is the third firing incident in the Jamia Nagar area in a week.

On Thursday, a minor fired at anti-CAA protesters marching towards Rajghat, injuring a student.

Two days later, a 25-year-old fired two rounds in air in Shaheen Bagh in Jamia Nagar. No one was hurt in the incident.

The incident on Sunday night triggered panic in the area. A police vehicle had reached the spot after the incident but was chased away by angry students.

Hundreds of students and locals gathered outside the university.

Many raised slogans against the Delhi Police. They also staged a dharna outside the Jamia Nagar police station.

Shezad Ahmed, a JMI student and resident of Zakir Nagar, said they were not even allowed to protest peacefully.

"We are not going to be deterred by such incidents. We will continue with our protest," he added.

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News Network
February 2,2020

New Delhi, Feb 2: The Congress on Sunday released its manifesto for Delhi polls, promising to implement unemployment allowance of Rs 5,000-7,500 per month and cashback schemes for water and power consumers, if voted to power.

Presenting the manifesto, Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra said the party will provide free power up to 300 unit per month.

The manifesto also committed to spend 25 per cent budget each year on fighting pollution and improving transport facilities.

An unemployment allowance of Rs 5,000 for graduates and Rs 7,500 for post graduates per month will be provided under the Yuva Swabhiman Yojna, he said.

The Congress will launch flagship cashback schemes for power and water supply to benefit consumers saving these resources. The party, if voted to power, will open 100 Indira Canteens to provide subsidised meals at Rs 15, Chopra said.

The Congress will challenge the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the Supreme Court and demand the Centre to withdraw the law. The party will also not implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the existing form of the National Population Register (NPR), if voted to power in Delhi.

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