No cash for last rites, body taken to bank

NOIDA: A 62-year-old woman who died on Monday afternoon was yet to be cremated till Tuesday evening as her family members had no cash to perform the last rites. They alleged that the bank they went to refused to give them money saying they have no cash.

The family members of the woman, Phoolmati Devi, then protested with her body in front of the bank. Later on Tuesday, the bank delivered the money but the family could not perform the last rites in the evening owing to religious belief. The family members of the dead woman said they had low balance in their account, and visited the bank on Monday and Tuesday but returned empty-handed.

Phoolmati Devi lived with her family members in Sector 9. Her husband, Munnilal, is a vegetable seller and son, Yamuna Prasad, works as a tailor. The family had shifted to Noida five years ago from Basti.

Munnilal said his wife was suffering from cancer for the last six months. "We took her to ESIC Hospital and then to a private hospital in Ghaziabad. She did not respond to medical treatment and died on Monday afternoon. We visited the Bank of India branch in Sector 9 on both days but the bank officials did not allow withdrawal," he said.

Prasad said he had Rs 16,000 in his account but was unable to withdraw the money. "We had no cash in hand. We did not know how to perform the cremation. This was a complete failure of the system," Prasad said. The family members started protesting at the spot demanding immediate withdrawal of money.

On being informed, the police reached the spot and Dilip Singh Bisht, sub-inspector in charge of the Jhundpura police post, gave Rs 2,000 of his own accord to the family for the cremation. As the news spread, a local politician also reached the spot and offered Rs 10,000 to the family. However the family members persisted in their demand for permission to withdraw their own money.

A team of police officers intervened and spoke to the bank's branch manager, Shishupal, who said the bank had no cash available on Tuesday. "The relatives of the dead woman came for cash withdrawal in the morning. Since we had no cash, we could not give it to them. In the afternoon, we managed to give them Rs 15,000 from their account," he said.

Prasad said it was too late when the family finally received the money. "They gave money in the afternoon. For cremation we need to buy wood and other items. We cannot perform the cremation after sunset. We will perform the last rites on Wednesday morning," he said.

District magistrate N P Singh said he has ordered an inquiry into the matter. "If the bank officials deliberately refused cash withdrawal, we will take action," he said.