Lakhs across the country have been queuing up outside banks, post offices and ATM to exchange their old currency notes.
In two separate incidents in Kerala, two people died during this wait.
The deceased are 48-year-old Unni KK from Thalassery in Kannur district and 75-year-old Karthikeyan from Harippad in Alappuzha district.
While Unni’s is suspected to be an accidental death, Karthikeyan collapsed to death, say police.
Unni, a KSEB employee fell from the third floor of SBT branch in Thalassery in Kannur district around 10 am on Friday. The bank, located on the second floor of the building, had been crowded since morning, say TV reports.
Police say witnesses recounted that Unni had walked up to the third floor after taking token to exchange Rs 5 lakh. He had availed this money as a loan from the same bank a day before demonetisation was announced.
TV reports say that he was unable to change the money on Thursday and had been disturbed because of it.
DYFI activists reportedly protested in front of the bank alleging that Unni had committed suicide as he was upset about not being able to change the money. Police, however, said that it was an accidental death and that the inquest was underway.
In Harippad in Alappuzha, 75-year-old Karthikeyan collapsed in front of Danapadi SBT branch at 3 pm.
“He had been standing in the queue for nearly an hour. Even though the people took him to a nearby hospital, doctors declared him brought dead. We understand that he was suffering from a number of health issues,” Harippad Sub-Inspector Biju told The News Minute.
(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute)
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