MUMBAI/BENGALURU: The ongoing
PMC Bank crisis claimed fourth life on Friday. The 70-year-old
Murlidhar Dharra, whose family held multiple accounts in
Mulund branch of the bank, suffered cardiac arrest and passed away.
Dharra's neighbours said that he was in an urgent need of money for his bypass surgery and was unable to access his savings. On Tuesday, he was admitted to Hardev Hospital, where he was advised by the doctors to undergo bypass surgery, which would have cost roughly Rs 2.25 lakh. Following his request to the bank, he was allowed to withdraw only Rs 40,000, which was insufficient for the surgery. So, the family was trying to figure how to raise funds required when this tragedy struck.
"He was in hospital. He was running a tea stall in our locality for the last 20 years or so," said Dharra's neighbour Guryjot Singh Keer.
CD Khira, a family friend of the deceased, said, "Murlidharji needed money for his treatment and was unable to access the funds. The entire family has accounts in PMC Bank. They also have a young child studying abroad whose fee of Rs 30 lakh is yet to be paid."
Murlidhar Dharra's daughter and son-in-law also have accounts in PMC Bank.
In last one week, Dharra is the fourth person to have died due to financial constraints following PMC Bank crisis. The week started with 51-year-old
Sanjay Gulati's death after suffereing a cardiac arrest on Monday. Gulati reportedly had lost his job with
Jet Airways and had around Rs 90 lakh in his account with PMC Bank.
The second PMC depositor to die was Murlidhar Dharra's neighbour in Mulund,
Fattomal Punjabi (61), on Tuesday. Both, Punjabi and Murlidhar Dharra, were Sindhi neighbours who lived near Sachkhand Darbar Gurdwara.
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The neighbours are in a state of shock following two deaths in the locality. An employee of a medical store near the Darbar said, "It is shocking to hear about the death of two elderly gentlemen with no serious ailments in our
colony. The PMC Bank issue must be resolved soon."
The third victim was
Nivedita Bijlani , a 39-year-old doctor who held an account with PMC Bank and ended her life at her father’s Andheri home on Tuesday. Bijlani had apparently savings over Rs 1 crore in her account with PMC Bank.