A man tried to set himself on fire at an IndusInd Bank branch in Firozabad after accusing the bank officials of taking bribes and denying him a loan. The man, named Chhabiram, is a clothes seller from Kotla in the Thana Narkhi area. He had already taken a loan of Rs 1 lakh from the bank, which he repaid ahead of schedule.
Chhabiram claims that bank officials, including Assistant Branch Manager Dharmendra Kumar and loan officer Sumit Kumar, took Rs 34,000 from him. They promised to approve a loan of Rs 2.5 lakh but never followed through. Despite several months of harassment, Chhabiram says the officials have neither returned his money nor processed his loan. He also mentioned that he had borrowed money on interest, and now, the person who lent him the money is demanding repayment.
Feeling hopeless, Chhabiram went to the bank with his wife, Saroj, to try to get his money back. When he didn’t receive any assistance, he poured petrol on himself in an attempt to commit self-immolation. As he tried to set himself on fire, the bank employees quickly fled the scene. However, local residents managed to intervene and took the matchbox from him, saving his life.
The bank denied the allegations of bribery. Gaurav Sharma, the bank’s credit head, said that Chhabiram had tried to apply for a loan using fake documents, which led to the cancellation of his loan application. He strongly rejected the accusations of taking bribes. Inspector Anjish Kumar confirmed that the police are questioning Chhabiram, and the investigation into the matter is still ongoing.
