The All India Bank of Baroda Officers’ Union has written to the Managing Director and CEO of Bank of Baroda, reporting serious allegations of harassment and a toxic work atmosphere in the bank’s Burdwan Region. In a letter dated December 9, 2025, the union said officers in the region are under extreme mental stress due to the behaviour of the Regional Manager, Shri Rajesh Das. According to the union, officers have described the environment as intolerable and mentally exhausting, forcing them to work under fear and pressure.
The union stated that several officers have reached out in distress, reporting severe harassment, intimidation and coercive work practices. They alleged that the Regional Manager monitors performance in an aggressive and threatening manner, pressures branches to take credit decisions that violate bank norms, overrides risk-management guidelines, and indirectly forces loan decisions by creating an atmosphere of fear. The union said these practices resemble a hostile regime rather than a regulated banking environment, and officers fear they may suffer mental breakdowns if the situation continues.
Officers have reported that the Regional Manager is:
👉 Monitoring performance in a threatening and intimidating manner.
👉 Forcing branches to take credit decisions against norms, effectively nullifying the four-eye principle, and overriding established risk-management guidelines.
👉 Indirectly “sanctioning” loans by pressuring officers and compelling them to execute decisions under fear.
Officers have further complained that the Regional Manager is misusing his authority for personal promotion while ignoring officer welfare, proper branch functioning and the bank’s long-term interest. The union added that many officers feel completely unprotected, even when they possess recorded evidence of harassment, and believe that the behaviour displayed has crossed all acceptable limits of managerial conduct.
A few days ago, a video had gone viral on social media. In the video, the regional manager was seen conducting a review meeting of bank officers. The union said that the video evidence available represents only a small fraction of the harassment officers face daily. They warned that many employees fear mental or physical collapse if action is not taken. The letter also referred to past tragedies in the bank, including the suicides of Shri Shiv Shankar Mitra of Baramati and Shri Ishwar Chandra Jha of Ranchi, stressing that the bank must act before another such incident occurs.
Sir, we cannot afford any more tragedies.
Bank of Baroda has already witnessed heartbreaking incidents such as: Shri Shiv Shankar Mitra of Baramati, and Shri Ishwar Chandra Jha of Ranchi, whose untimely SUICIDE tragedies shook the entire fraternity.
AIBOBOU
Based on the complaints received, the union has requested immediate intervention from the Corporate Office. It has demanded that an independent fact-finding authority be appointed, the Regional Manager of Burdwan be removed or transferred during the inquiry, and officers who raised concerns be protected from retaliation. The union has also asked for a review of managerial accountability to ensure that such misuse of power does not recur.
Demands by the Union
- Immediate intervention of the Corporate Office: A fact-finding authority independent of the Region must be deputed urgently.
- Immediate removal/transfer of the Regional Manager, Burdwan: Pending enquiry, in order to neutralise fear and restore a safe working atmosphere.
- Protection and psychological safety of officers: No officer who has raised concerns should face retaliation, victimisation, or adverse action.
- Review of managerial behaviour and accountability mechanisms: Such misuse of power must be addressed firmly so that no officer, anywhere in India, suffers in silence.
The union emphasised that some of the language used by officers in their written complaints, such as “collapse of human brain” and “beyond humanity,” shows the severity of the mental pressure they are facing. It stated that a public-sector institution cannot allow any region to become a toxic environment where officers fear reporting to work. The letter urges the Corporate Office to take swift and transparent action to restore confidence among employees and ensure a safe and supportive workplace.
-
-
-
-
-
-
