He had on Monday participated in a protest along with other PMC Bank depositors, demanding reimbursement of their money from the bank.
Sanjay Gulati, an account holder at the scam-riddled Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, passed away after a cardiac arrest on Monday night. He had participated in a protest demanding justice for issues faced due to locked funds in the PMC Bank, which is looking at a financial scandal of Rs 4,500 crore.
On account of the ongoing investigation into the multi-crore scam, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had put curbs on the withdrawing of money by its account holders.
Sources said that Gulati was one of the bank's weighty depositors who had more than Rs 80 lakhs in his four accounts. He, along with other PMC Bank depositors, on Monday held a protest outside the city's Esplanade Court, demanding reimbursement of their money from the bank.
According to documents accessed by Zee Media, PMC Bank officials violated rules blatantly to build private properties using the money of the customers. The scam in PMC Bank was allegedly carried out by senior officials in connivance with HDIL promoters.
The RBI provided a big relief to PMC Bank customers on Monday by allowing the account holders to withdraw Rs 40,000 within six months. The previous withdrawal limit was Rs 25,000. It was projected that with the relaxation, about 77 per cent of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their entire account balance.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, too, assured on Monday that PMC Bank customers will not face any loss as the Centre has asked the RBI to keep their interest in mind and resolve the ongoing crisis as soon as possible. Sitharaman had earlier met customers of PMC Bank on October 10 and heard their woes. "Finance Ministry may have nothing to do with it (PMC bank matter) directly because RBI is the regulator. But from my side, I've asked the secretaries of my ministry to work with the Rural Development Ministry and Urban Development Ministry to study in detail as to what is happening," she had said.
However, according to close aides and family, Sanjay Gulati was still facing a lot of stress due to RBI's curbs, as he was being unable to withdraw funds from the bank. He was also increasingly facing problems, hence, gathering enough money for the medical treatment of his son, who is a differently-abled child with special needs. All of these causes could have led to his death, it is being suspected.
According to the police, PMC bank officials gave loans to HDIL between 2008 and 2019 despite no repayment of the previous loans. Joy Thomas, the former managing director of PMC Bank, is already in police custody. Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized and identified movable and immovable assets worth more than Rs 3,830 crores owned by Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL), its Directors/Promoters, PMC Bank officials and others related entities in the PMC Bank case. Earlier yesterday, a Mumbai court sent former PMC chairman Waryam Singh and HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan to the police custody in alleged connection with the bank fraud case. The Esplanade court in Mumbai remanded the trio to police custody till 16th October. Last week, the Mumbai Police had nabbed the Wadhawan duo.
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.
(With agency and Zee Media newsroom inputs)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Sanjay Gulati, the first casualty of the PMC Bank crisis")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}