The client at the receiving end sent a legal notice to the branch manager demanding compensation of Rs 1 lakh for the mental stress he had to endure.
Days after the manager of a branch in Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu allegedly turned down a loan to a client for not knowing Hindi, the bank transferred the official. Vishal Kamble, who was the director of the Gangaikondacholapuram branch of the Indian Overseas Bank, had reportedly refused to verify documents submitted by a client as the documents were in Tamil.
According to an official communication dated September 21 sent by IOB to Vishal Narayan Kamble, he has been transferred to another branch of the bank in Trichy. The manager was at the dock after The New Indian Express reported that it refused to verify documents brought in by a customer applying for a loan.
Twelve days ago, C Balasubramanian, 76, a client of the Gangaikondacholapuram branch of the IOB, had approached Vishal seeking a loan to build a shopping complex on a plot of his own land. Balasubramanian said Vishal, the manager, asked him if he knew Hindi since Vishal was from Maharashtra. When Balasubramanian replied that he only knew English and Tamil, a heated argument allegedly ensued between him and Vishal. Balasubramanian also claimed that Vishal said he could not verify the land documents as they were in Tamil and denied his loan application without even looking at it.
Balasubramanian, a retired physician, followed up the incident with a legal notice to the bank manager immediately after that and claimed compensation of 1 lakh rupees for the mental stress he had to endure due to the manager. He had also stated that refusing to grant a loan for not knowing a language is a service deficiency and that if the bank does not pay him compensation, he would be moving the District Consumer Court.
The incident sparked outrage on social media with many demanding that the IOB take strict action against the manager. Many from Ariyalur, who have accounts at the same branch, also told The New Indian Express that this was common at the branch and that it was the assistant branch manager who used to interact with customers.
இந்தி தெரியாவிட்டால் வங்கிக் கடன் கிடையாதா? – ஜெயங்கொண்டம் @IOBIndia அதிகாரியொருவர் ஓய்வு பெற்ற மருத்துவரிடம் ஆணவத்தைக் காட்டியிருக்கிறார்!
இந்தி வெறியை வளர்த்தெடுப்பது பேரபாயம்!
தமிழர் உணர்வுடன் விளையாடினால் சிறு பொறிகள் தீப்பிழம்பாகிவிடும்! எச்சரிக்கை!#StopHindilmposition
– MKStalin (@mkstalin) September 22, 2020
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