INDIA: Trader's claims fortune eaten up by termites, bank denies

PATNA, Bihar (The Hindu - Press Trust of India), April 6, 2008: A trader claiming that termites ate up Rs 450,000 he deposited in a bank locker is demanding compensation, while the bank authorities contend it to be 'fictitious'. "I had kept my lifetime earnings in the the bank locker, but all my old age savings have been lost," 60-year-old Dwarika Prasad of Qazipur area here who trades in ghee told PTI. Prasad said he was shocked when he opened locker number 17 alloted to him at the Nayatola branch of Central Bank of India on January 29. The Rs 4.5 lakh he had kept in cash had been eaten up by termites and fixed deposit documents, Kisan Vikas Patras and National Saving Certificates worth over Rs 2.5 lakh badly damaged. Prasad said he had deposited the cash and investment documents in the locker as he had separated from his wife two years ago because of strained relations. "I am staying away from my wife and planned to buy a land to construct a house. My dream is now shattered," Prasad said. He said he had lodged a formal complaint with the bank authorities the very next day and sought compensation, but there was no response. "I showed them the polythene bag that contained currency notes nibbled to shreds by termites to the bank authorities but nobody paid any attention to my complaint," he said. Senior manager of the branch Y P Saha, however, termed Prasad's claim as 'fictitious'. Copyright © 2008, The Hindu.