PMC Bank Customers Protest At Branches, HDIL Headquarters In Mumbai
PMC Bank customers have lodged police complaint against the bank’s chairman and others, and sought confiscation of their passports
A group of customers of crisis-hit Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank held sit-ins at the bank headquarters and at various branches on Thursday, demanding action against its chairman and board members.
A few bank employees and customers also held demonstrations outside the real estate developer Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd.'s office in Bandra.
On Tuesday, Reserve Bank of India imposed several restrictions on PMC Bank, including capping withdrawals at Rs 1,000 for six months, after it detected irregularities in the disclosures of non-performing assets. The withdrawal limit was raised to Rs 10,000 per customer on Thursday. The urban cooperative bank was also barred from extending new loans for six months.
HDIL is a borrower to PMC Bank, Suspended Managing Director K Joy Thomas told BloombergQuint on Wednesday, adding that the real estate firm has been a part of the bank’s 30-year growth journey.
The sit-ins were held at many PMC Bank branches, including at Sion, Antop Hill and the bank's headquarters at Bhandup. "We are worried about our money. We need our hard earned money back," said Manjeet Singh, who has an account at PMC Bank’s Sion branch.
A set of customers also filed a police complaint against senior officials of the bank at the Sion police station. "We have lodged a police complaint against the chairman and directors of the bank. They have cheated us," said one Alok Kumar.
Earlier in the day, a group of 14 account-holders went to the Sion police station and submitted a complaint against bank officials, accusing PMC Bank’s chairman and its directors of misappropriation of public funds.
They requested the police to take proper action against those named in the complaint and confiscate their passports, so that they do not leave the country, a police official said. They also sought an explanation from the bank chairman and directors over misappropriation of funds of the customers, the officer added.
"We have received a written application from account holders of the PMC Bank. Further action will be taken after examining the complaint," the police officer said.