Two PMC Bank account holders lose lives

Police, relatives say death not related to crisis

Two account holders of the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank lost their lives on Tuesday.

Yogita Bijlani (40), an Andheri resident, committed suicide on Tuesday morning. The police, however, have said her death was not connected to the bank’s crisis. In another incident the same morning, Fattomal Punjabi (59), who had an account in the bank’s Mulund branch, reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest. His nephew, Manish, clarified later that his death was not connected to the crisis.

Bijlani, a doctor, had recently moved back to India from the U.S. and was staying at her father’s house with her two-year-old daughter. She was found unconscious by her father, who rushed her to a local hospital, where she was declared dead before admission. The Versova police were informed and a team was sent to conduct inquiries. “Investigations have revealed that she had been suffering from depression due to two failed marriages. She had moved back to India after her second marriage failed and had also attempted suicide while staying in the U.S.. She was under treatment for clinical depression,” Additional Commissioner of Police (West region) Manoj Kumar Sharma said.

He said while no suicide note was found in her house or on her person, her depression is the strongest possible motive behind her extreme step.

“It is a fact that she had an account with the PMC Bank but there is no evidence so far to indicate that she was stressed over the bank’s ongoing crisis or that the crisis had caused her any major financial problems,” an officer with the Versova police said.

Meanwhile, Punjabi, who owned an electronics store, is survived by a son and a daughter. Though Punjabi was part of several protests that had erupted when the RBI placed curbs on the withdrawal, his nephew has said Punjabi barely had any money in his PMC Bank account. “We appeal to people to not politicise my uncle’s death and refrain from spreading rumours,” Manish said.

In memoriam: PMC Bank depositors from Andheri at a candlelight march for Sanjay Gulati on Tuesday.

Residents of Andheri also held a candlelight march in memory of 51-year-old Sanjay Gulati, who died on Monday. Gulati, an Oshiwara resident who had over ₹90 lakh deposited in the bank, had lost his job at Jet Airways when the airline was grounded. He suffered a heart attack, and is said to have been extremely stressed as he had a special child to support. Gulati is survived by his wife and two children.

(With inputs from PTI)