A higher secondary student in Bihar and her father have said a public sector bank asked her to remove her hijab if she wanted to withdraw money.
The girl, Saba Tabassum, said the incident took place at Uco Bank’s branch in Begusarai’s Mansur Chak on February 10. It spilled out in the public domain after video footage recorded by her family did the rounds on Monday.
Saba told reporters on Monday: “I went to the bank branch and filled up the money withdrawal form. When my number came, the cashier refused to give the money till I removed my hijab. I told him that I always come like this and withdraw money, but he refused to listen to me. I also refused to remove the hijab.”
When Saba pressed the cashier to give the money, he refused and dared her to call whoever she wanted to.
“I called up my father and elder brother. After much argument, the bank officials yielded and gave me the money,” she said.
Saba said the officials did not mention Karnataka — now the ground zero of the hijab controversy — but were trying to replicate a similar experiment here.
“They wanted to insult us. Nowhere is it written that we cannot go to the bank in the hijab. The bank officials never refused me money in the hijab earlier. I do not know why they did so this time. I have always visited the bank in the hijab,” she said.
The video shows a bank official asking Saba’s father Muhammad Matin Alam to meet the branch manager and stop recording the incident. Alam asks him to either show a letter or order banning the use of the hijab in the bank or give it in writing. He also refused to stop filming the incident.
Soon other bank officials joined the argument and asked Saba’s family to stop recording the video, which they refused.
“If you are talking about law, act as per the law. The mobile will continue to record. My son sends money from outside every month. This is my daughter. You are asking her to remove the hijab. Show us the order or give us in writing,” Alam says in the video.
“If you are trying to implement something that is happening in Karnataka, then show us the directions given by the government,” Alam says in the video.
Officials of the bank were not available for comment despite repeated attempts by this newspaper. Flooded with adverse comments from across the country, Uco Bank tweeted: “Bank respects the religious sentiments of the citizens and does not discriminate its esteemed customers on the basis of caste or religion. Bank is checking the facts on this issue.”
Later, the bank uploaded another tweet saying its executives “have met the customer and her family. The customer conveyed her satisfaction with the bank’s service. Being an organisation since pre-Independence India and with an existence of 79 glorious years, UCO Bank is committed towards the expectations and trust of our citizens”.
Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, the leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, tweeted: “Honourable chief minister Nitish Kumar ji, what are you getting done in Bihar for the sake of chair (read power). We understand that you have mortgaged your thoughts, policy, ethics and conscience to the BJP, but at least consider the oath taken on the Constitution. Arrest the people involved in this disgusting act.”
