Youth Leader Steps In To Get Woman Released From Bank Premises
Key Points:
- Mango woman accuses bank agents of forcing her to the branch
- Sulekha Gope alleges hours-long detention over a bounced instalment
- Youth leader Shubham Raj intervenes, demands police action
JAMSHEDPUR – A resident of Sankosai Road No. 5 in Mango has accused a private bank and its recovery agents of forcibly taking her to a branch after one of her loan instalments bounced.
Sulekha Gope said she had taken a loan of Rs 55,000 from the bank for employment purposes. The loan was to be repaid over two years. She alleged that after one instalment bounced, recovery agents reached her home on Thursday and took her to the bank against her will.
According to Gope, she was made to stay at the branch for several hours after reaching there. She alleged that bank staff and recovery agents pressured her to deposit the outstanding amount and did not allow her to return home. Her family members, on learning of the episode, contacted youth leader Shubham Raj.
Raj reached the bank soon after being informed and gathered details of the matter. He got the woman released from the premises and strongly condemned the incident. He said no bank or recovery agent had the right to take the law into its own hands. He also demanded that police investigate the case and act against those found responsible.
Following the intervention, the woman was escorted safely back home. The bank’s management, however, issued no official response on the matter, and bank officials declined to comment when approached.
Meanwhile, the episode has become a talking point in the locality, with residents questioning the conduct of recovery agents in loan-recovery processes. Should the woman’s allegations be established, the case could raise wider questions about banking norms and customer rights.
The Reserve Bank of India’s fair-practices code for lenders bars recovery agents from using intimidation or undue coercion while recovering dues, and requires borrowers to be contacted only at reasonable hours. Recovery-related disputes involving private lenders have been reported from other parts of Jamshedpur in the past as well.
The incident comes even as the Reserve Bank has separately announced fresh rules for account holders. Under a recent change, SBI customers holding basic savings accounts will face charges on cash withdrawals beyond a monthly limit from October.
Mango has also been in the news lately over civic disputes, including an ongoing municipal corporation row and questions raised at a recent board meeting over alleged procedural lapses.
Besides, the municipal corporation has also carried out an encroachment drive in the Mango area in recent days. Separately, Jamshedpur police recently claimed to have busted a theft gang operating in the city, while a case of jewellery theft was also reported from Bagbera this month.
