June 18, 2012 KOLKATA : In September 2009, Choudhury was handed a fit-for-discharge certificate by a board constituted by doctors at Lumbini Park Mental Hospital where she was admitted for schizophrenia. After her discharge, she has been working as a caregiver at a house in north Kolkata earning Rs 2000 per month.
In 2011, she opened an account at the Corporation Bank where her salary was transferred. "I have been withdrawing money but when I went to deposit the cheque, they simply refused to let me do so," a helpless Choudhury said. Activist Ratnaboli Ray, who runs the NGO Anjali Mental Health Rights Organisation, said the bank did not need to know the medical history of a client for permission to operate a bank account. "This is a case of clear violation of the rights of a person suffering from psychosocial disability," she said. Besides facing unnecessary hassles for the last five months, Choudhury has also lost the interest she would have got has the money been deposited to the bank on time. Her cheque will expire in the next 15-20 days. A woman who was given a fit for discharge certificate by a mental hospital three years ago after suffering from schizophrenia, has been turned away by her bank from depositing Rupees five lakh, with the cheque to expire in a fortnight. The 45-year-old Niti Choudhury, who works as a domestic caregiver, sold her house in December last year for Rupees five lakh and has been trying to deposit the cheque since then in her Corporation Bank's Ballygunge branch account. "She needs a medical certificate declaring her mentally fit. Under our laws we cannot let her operate the account till then," the bank branch manager M N Moger told PTI. http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/a-chequers-5-lakh-which-cannot-be-encashed/22048/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
