PMC scam: Rs 90 lakh in bank, depositor dies of heart attack

A 51-year-old man, whose family has a deposit of over Rs 90 lakh in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC) died due to a heart attack, PTI reported on Tuesday. The man had recently lost his job at Jet Airways. According to reports, Sanjay Gulati, a resident of suburban Oshiwara had been under stress because of his deposit being stuck.

Following the detection of an alleged scam worth Rs 4335 crore, the PMC Bank has been placed under "directions" by the RBI since last month, wherein depositors' withdrawals have been capped. Many depositors of the bank had staged a protest in Mumbai on Monday. Gulati was also at the protest alongwith his father.

Gulati died due to a heart attack while having dinner on Monday, PTI quoted a senior official at Oshiwara police station as saying.

According to several reports, Gulati had lost his job after the grounding of Jet Airways and is survived by a specially-abled son, who requires regular medical treatment.

In a video made at the protest site, Gulati's father claimed that the family has a deposit of over Rs 90 lakh with the bank.

Waryam Singh was one of the four accused against whom the EOW had registered an FIR, and had been detained yesterday. (PTI Photo)The withdrawal limit of the PMC bank was increased to Rs 40,000 by the RBI on Monday, and the central bank said 77 per cent of the customers will be able to fully withdraw their deposits with this move. The limits were earlier capped at Rs 1,000 and subsequently raised to Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000 as the bank's liquidity position improved.

"The financial position of the bank has been substantially impaired due to fraud perpetrated on it by certain persons," RBI said. "The Reserve Bank is closely monitoring the developments and shall continue to take necessary steps in the interest of the depositors of the bank," the central bank added.

Meanwhile, four people, including promoters of realty firm HDIL to which the bank made the sour loans, and the lender's former chairman and ex-managing director have so far been arrested in connection with the alleged scam. PMC Bank, which has a deposit base of Rs 11,617 crore, has 137 branches spread across seven states.

(Inputs from The Indian Express)