There was a lady in burkha staring at me, eyes asking me help. Every time I go to bank i help elderly people,class 4 men etc. and nowadays of course I have more than ever time to spend...I decided to help.
Given my personal opinion that burkha must be banned,as i feel it hampers social upliftment of women, and my hostile nature towards people who impose such strictures,this was a giant leap for me.
I not only filled the form, but also went a step further. I took a blank form and asked her to write everything which is to be written on form in urdu. She could read and write urdu. "Mere shohar saudi main hain" she said. she now knew how to fill a form on her own. I was happy. "hindi likhne main bahut dar lagta hai, kahin galat ho gaya toh" We both were in line. She wanted to ask something hesitantly. She asked me to check whether the account credited rupees 5000 on 18th March. I saw it was showing credited zero rupees. I told her and she was shocked. "maine toh rupeye bhare the"....I asked her for deposit slip if she had and thankfully she had it. I said i will ask to employee after we deposit money.
She said " kita bataa raha hai yeh paisa" i said 3500 rupees..."maine toh paise nikale hi nahi fir kam kaise hue?" what would i say to that...when passbook showed withdrawal by ATM. She said "mere paas toh ATM card hi nahi hai.... "I was shocked!!! 10000 rupees were withdrawn,and as I could see she was depositing some 3-4K per month that makes three months earning for her. I said dekhte hain.....
We went to bank officer on duty, a lady, i gave her passbook and she checked. 18th March was showing credit, due to some etchnical error it wasnt printed on passbook. and todays deposit was also there. Then I said about withdrawal, she said" yeh toh bahar ke ATM se hi hua hain"......
and before I could think anything lady in burkha started crying.." aap ro kyun rahi hain..mil jayenge aapke paise" I said...." mere shohar mujhe maar dalenge" she said sobbing....
I asked bank lady what to do. She said first block the card. I said "do it then"...she said"aapko hi karna padega" I took card number,and toll free number of bank.
I called the bank call centre...It got connected in first attempt...to my astonishment (IDBI).
I told what was problem and that I was calling on her behalf. The woman on call centre was very helpful...she took verification...and I helped burkha lady know her date of birth by her PAN card which she was carrying in her purse...and with great difficulty We blocked the card..the verification process is tedious.....as it should be.....she said you have to register FIR in case of misuse of card....
"Aapke ghar pe aaya tha card, kisine aap ki signature karke liyaa hai" She said" mere bhai kaa betaa bol raha tha ki fufa aap ki sign toh kitni simple hai, mere bhai ke saath ek joint account bhi hai meraa yahaan"....I assumed it was some family problem...I said "aap pehle pooch ke dekhiye ki usne liyaa hai kyaa"......"main yahaan ayi thi card lene unhon ne bolaa pichle mahine ki nahi aaya"she said
I said in case if he says no then you come again and ask manager....You have to do police complaint if they say they didnt take money....My mind was wondering, will police help her in case she went?? should I tell her not to use ATM henceforth?? will I get in some problem for letting my cellphone use for her?? god knows what is her background...... Afterall I was just some random wandering guy.....I have something stupid such as "career" to take care of......what more could I do...
her eyes were wet with unstoppable tears......."shukriya bhaisahab"she said and I went on
Her name was PARVIN ISMAIL SHAIKH.
** This is a real life incident
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