"5DayBanking" began trending on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday after news of the death of a chief manager of Bank of Baroda's Baramati branch circulated.
Shivshankar Mitra hanged himself inside the bank premises late Thursday night. He was serving his notice period after resigning as chief manager at the bank on July 11, citing health issues and workload.
An official from the Baramati Police Station said, "After banking hours, Mitra asked all the staff to leave, saying he would close the branch. The watchman left around 9:30 pm. Mitra had earlier asked a colleague to bring a rope. At around 10 pm, he hanged himself with this rope. The incident has been captured by the bank's CCTV cameras."
"When Mitra did not return home or respond to calls, his wife reached the bank around midnight. She found the lights on. After getting no response from inside, she alerted the bank staff. When the branch was opened, Mitra was found hanging from the ceiling. In a note recovered from the scene, Mitra cited work pressure as the reason for his extreme step," the official added.
Meanwhile, the All India Bank of Baroda Officers' Association wrote a letter to Debadatta Chand, CEO & MD, Bank of Baroda, stating that this incident was a "wake-up call" and "necessitates serious action."
"It is a fact that officers and executives are currently under severe stress due to poorly coordinated and overlapping campaigns. Just yesterday, as many as 22 campaigns were being run simultaneously, without proper coordination among various verticals. Our repeated appeals for better alignment have, regrettably, not received adequate attention," read the letter.
"Staff shortage is another critical issue. While we appreciate that the bank management has initiated recruitment efforts, the relief from this will take time to materialise, as newly appointed officers are yet to report to their respective branches," it added.
"Moreover, we are increasingly witnessing unprofessional behaviour from some regional functionaries. Instances of derogatory language being used are not uncommon. It is also troubling that branches are often pressured to meet arbitrary targets, such as opening a specific number of accounts before the closing day's operations or disbursing loans on the same day of sanction, even if it means compromising on due diligence or terms and conditions," the letter further added.
