NPR-KYC advertisement stokes panic in Tamil Nadu village, villagers withdraw Rs 6 crore

MADURAI: On January 11, there was a public notice by the Central Bank of India in local daily ‘Thinathanthi’ that said National Population Register (NPR) details would be linked to the KYC of people who had their accounts with the Kayalpattinam branch in Tuticorin. It was just one of the options suggested. But many failed to read it correctly. In the village with a predominant Muslim population, it immediately created ripples.By Saturday last week, social media had turned that into panic.
Hundreds of people have since then lined up in front of the bank to empty out their cash, convinced that the government was punishing them for taking part in anti-CAA-NRC protests.

Branch manager A Mariappan told TOI that Rs 6 crore had already been withdrawn. “Monday was the day of the highest withdrawals and most of the customers who came were women, who rarely visit the bank on other days,” he said.
On Thursday itself a sum of Rs 50 lakh was taken out. Kayalpattinam is a coastal town in Tuticorin district with about 10,000 households, most of them Muslim. Many of the men work abroad and hold NRI accounts with the bank.
Caught off-guard by the money-withdrawal spree by customers, the bank has launched an “auto-rickshaw” campaign to allay the fears. But few are convinced. Shabana, who didn’t want to give her full name, said, “We were told that the notice could be a consequence of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and that our deposits wouldn’t be safe.” Her husband who works in the Gulf sends most of the money he makes home.
Bank officials said they were surprised to see hundreds of customers outside their bank last week. “It was only a little while later that we realised they wanted their money back. There was nothing we could do,” one of them said.
Mariappan said they had to seek help of staff at a neighbouring branch to deal with the rush. And since Kayalpattinam does not have a police station, personnel from a neighbouring thana were summoned to manage the crowds.
Social activist and member of Mass Empowerment and Guidance Association S K Salih said that the people’s fears on seeing the notice seemed natural as they were at the forefront of CAA and NRC agitations. “We took out a rally of about 6,500 people, carried a 650-metre-long national flag and conducted special prayers in schools against it. We wore badges saying ‘No CAA’ and ‘No NRC’, and here we were being asked to submit NPR details. Our biggest fears are coming true,” he said.
Hussain, a villager, said bank officials were cordial and tried to tell them that everything was fine. “But that doesn’t solve our problem, does it? What they were telling us was only a comma at the end of the sentence, and not a full stop,’’ he said.
Mariappan said their branch was one of the best performing ones with deposits to the tune of Rs 52 crore — flush with NRI money. Now he is anxious that he may not see those heady days any more. Compounding his fear is another matter: There are rumours that the bank is bankrupt and that it will close on January 31.
Read this story in Bengali