Demonetisation: Woman has miscarriage as Bihar clinic declines old currency

A Patna resident on Wednesday claimed that his unborn child died because a clinic refused to conduct an ultrasound on his wife in exchange of demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.

Rajeev Ranjan Singh, a resident of Ramlakhan Path in Kankarbagh colony here, said that he rushed to a physician his pregnant wife after she complained of stomach pain. The physician recommended an ultrasound diagnostic test. But the clinic refused to accept old notes of Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 denomination.

"Despite my repeated requests, the clinic refused to conduct an ultrasound in exchange of old notes and due to delay in treatment my wife had a miscarriage. We have lost our child," he said.

Adding insult to the injury, several chemists also refused to sell medicines and injections required to stop bleeding after the miscarriage as he only had old currency notes.

"I was forced to stand in a long queue for three and a half hours — leaving my ailing wife at God's mercy — to withdraw some amount to purchase essential medicines for her," Singh said.

Local Hindi dailies reported that a 65-year-old retired army man, Surender Kumar Sharma, died outside a State Bank of India branch in Daudnagar in Aurangabad district after standing for hours in a long queue to withdraw money on Tuesday.

A 50-year-old woman, Lalmani Devi, also died inside Punjab National Bank branch at Khijarsarai in Gaya district on Tuesday due to suffocation.