Demonetisation claimed two lives in Uttar Pradesh where a 40-year-old man and a 56-year-old man died in the last 24 hours.
In Balia, the “tilak” ceremony of Suresh Sonar’s daughter Suman, was scheduled to take place on Wednesday. As Sonar was short of cash he decided to withdraw as much money as he could on Tuesday. However, he was unable to do so despite standing in a queue for several hours at the State Bank of India branch.
A depressed and worried Sonar suffered a heart attack on Tuesday night and died on way to hospital.
In Bareilly, 56-year-old Khalif Hassan, had gone to withdraw money from a bank in Ithpajaya.
Hassan failed to get money even after standing in a queue the whole of Tuesday so he went to withdraw cash early on Wednesday morning.
However, when his turn did not come till late in the afternoon, an exhausted and worried Hassan got a massive heart attack and collapsed in the queue. He died on the spot.
The news of death of Hassan went like a wild fire and soon hundred of local residents led by Adnan Raza Khan, president of youth wing of Raza Action Committee, staged a huge demonstration demanding action in the matter. Senior police reached the spot and somehow managed to convince the protesters that appropriate action will be taken. The body of the victim was also sent for post-mortem examination.
Meanwhile reports from Muzaffarnagar confirmed that several cash-strapped families demonstrated outside the District Magistrate's office, demanding adequate money to prepare for the upcoming weddings of their kin in wake of the demonetisation move. Reports said that the protestors waved their wedding cards during the demonstration on Tuesday evening, alleging that they were not able to withdraw cash from their bank accounts leading to "great problems" while making arrangements for the weddings.
They submitted a memorandum to the DM and demanded that they be allowed to withdraw reasonable cash from their bank accounts for the ceremonies. Ashok Kumar, a parent, said he was facing shortage of cash for his daughter's marriage scheduled on November 24. The protest was led by one Rajender Singh whose daughter is set to get married on November 25.