Mumbai: A day after The Hindu reported how Pradeep Thakur, son of Amarnath yatra attack victim Nirmala Thakur, had been refused the insurance payout under his mother’s Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana account, the Canara Bank on Saturday allowed Mr. Thakur to submit documents to process the claim.
Nirmala died in the terror attack on July 10, when unidentified assailants shot at a bus carrying pilgrims returning from Amarnath.
She had opened an account at the Canara Bank, Dahanu Branch, some time ago. But on Friday, when Mr. Thakur went to process the claim for the ₹1 lakh accident cover guaranteed under the scheme, the bank refused to pay him the money. Officials said Nirmala had not filled a particular form needed to claim the amount.
On Saturday, however, the bank did a U-turn, and asked Mr. Thakur to submit the necessary documents. Branch manager Vineet Abraham, who took over from Manisha Matkar on Friday, told The Hindu that the claim process had started. “Mr. Thakur met me today and I have taken the necessary documents. Since the insurance is in-built in the scheme, he will not have to submit any additional documents,” he said.
Mr. Thakur will have to submit a death certificate, which he is yet to receive from the hospital in Jammu and Kashmir.
While Mr. Thakur is relieved, he says no one from his area had filled any additional forms either. “Almost 300 people had opened similar Jan Dhan accounts. After my experience, they too were scared since they had not filled any forms either,” he said.