She was the widow of a martyr!

(This is an incident from our Muzaffarpur branch of Patna Circle)

It was a normal business day. Mr Shrivastava, Dy Manager Accounts of my division submitted a note with a list of stale bankers’ cheques recommending for credit to charges account. Mr Shrivastava was very meticulous in complying with Bank’s instructions and was committed to dispose the matter within the definite timeframe.

I looked into the details of the note and list attached to it. It appeared to be a routine job for a big size treasury branch as the list was showing many small amounts of stale bankers’ cheques. However, my eyes stuck to a particular Bankers’ cheque amounting to Rs.1.22 lacs favoring Smt. Anita Devi. On my enquiry, Mr.Shrivastava replied that there is not much detail available in the Banker’s cheques register and old vouchers were not traceable. The old record keeper had retired three years ago and record keeping presently was not up to the desired level.

I called on the staff looking after record keeping and discussed the matter. He was ready to search the vouchers but was not very confident. Much to my surprise, after two days the record keeper came to me with a smiling face along with the bunch of vouchers for the relevant date. I thanked him and immediately searched through the vouchers. But alas! The voucher also just mentioned “Smt. Anita Devi”. However, the narration in the voucher showed that it related to some proceeds of Govt. Bill but all Govt. Bills had been handed over to the treasury after a time lag as a normal practice. Everyone was grim, as it appeared to be a dead end.

Then something stuck in my mind and I called in the system administrator. Our branch had already migrated from Bank Master to CBS. The system administrator, a young officer told me that the details of Bank Master period were available in a separate computer and he opened the DTL for the required date. When we searched for the specific amount, it appeared on the credit side. But it was no help to us as the narration was no better than that which had appeared on the voucher. Then we searched for the debit side entry for the same amount. Suddenly it showed some ray of hope! One old bank master account number of Anita Devi was mentioned where the amount was required to be credited. We exclaimed with joy that our goal has been achieved.

But the hurdles were not yet over. The Bank Master account when traced to the converted CBS account showed a different name of the account holder. It appeared to be losing game and I was thinking in terms of granting permission for crediting the stale Bankers’ cheques to charges account. But then the saying “God proposes and man disposes” came true again and an idea came to my mind. I requested the system administrator, to convert the Bank Master account for all the branches at the Centre. He accepted the job joyfully and started searching for other branches also. After 6 to 7 searches he shouted, “Sir, Sir, the account is meant for our B.U.Campus branch!”

All the staff involved in the process was feeling extremely enthusiastic. It also gave them a feeling that desired result could be achieved with a goal in mind and sustained effort. Mr.Shrivastava immediately wrote a letter to the address of “Anita Devi” and also called on some local people to search the lady at the recorded address.

After 5 - 6 days in the early Banking hour I was sitting in my chamber with my officers having a cup of tea. One old person with a young lady appeared at the door. I called them in. They appeared to be in grief and were hesitant to speak. I offered them seat and enquired about their requirement. Tears dropped from the eyes of the old person and the lady and they showed me the letter written from the bank to Anita Devi. The old man then introduced the lady as “Anita Devi” and himself as her father in law. I just could not sit on my chair any longer and I stood up. She was the widow of a martyr! Her husband a soldier had been killed at the Kashmir Border leaving behind old parents, young wife and two little kids. The sudden demise of the soldier pushed them in to deep trouble that they could not even follow-up for the settlement of legitimate dues of the slain soldier.

The message spread like lightning in the branch. Every one was getting emotional. We had no word to console them. We could realize the tough time the family had passed through. After brief discussion we identified the beneficiary and handed over the cheque to Anita Devi. They were just speechless and overwhelmed by the gesture of the Bank. Tears were flowing down their cheeks and their eyes were acknowledging the deep gratitude towards SBI.

The whole team was greatly satisfied with the outcome. That our effort could bring some positive changes in the family of a war widow and spread a positive message about the Bank in the society was more than what we earned in terms of money, reward or recognition.

Contributed by Narayan Chandra Paul
Chief Manager (Sanction)
SMECC Ranchi