The State Bank of India decided on Monday to suspend the loans of 23 staff members of the Central Reserve Police Force who were killed in a suicide bombing in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on 14 February. At least 40 soldiers were killed in the attack and five were injured.
“23 soldiers obtained loans from the SBI and the bank decided to give up all outstanding loans with immediate effect,” the SBI said in a statement, according to PTI.
“In this moment of grief, our sincere thoughts are with the families of our bravehearts. These initiatives by the Bank are a small gesture towards the families who have faced irreparable loss.” – Shri. Rajnish Kumar, Chairman SBI. https://t.co/IL24AMuHWg#SBIStandsByOurSoldiers pic.twitter.com/7jUBuJk5cb
— State Bank of India (@TheOfficialSBI) February 18, 2019
The 23 soldiers were clients of the bank under their defense salary package. Under this scheme, the bank provides Rs 30 lakh as insurance for each jawan. The state bank has accelerated the release of this insurance money to the relatives of the deceased soldiers.
The bank also called on its employees to contribute voluntarily to support the families of the soldiers through the Bharat Ke Veer government website. The bank has created a unified payment interface to facilitate these transactions.
In this difficult time of grief, the country has stood by its Bravehearts. #BharatKeVeer #BHIMUPI @dilipasbe @TheOfficialSBI @GoI_MeitY @_DigitalIndia @jagograhakjago pic.twitter.com/QSSjyP3uK6
— NPCI (@NPCI_NPCI) February 18, 2019
“It is extremely distressing and disturbing to witness the loss of lives of the soldiers who always defend the security of our country,” said OSE President Rajnish Kumar. “In this moment of pain, our sincere thoughts are with the families of our brave hearts. These bank initiatives are a small gesture towards families that have suffered irreparable losses “.
The ties between India and Pakistan have deteriorated after the February 14 attack. The extremist group Jaish-e-Mohammad took responsibility for the suicide attack.
