Currency ban: Farmer dies of heart attack, fifth death in three days

A 47-year-old farmer on Saturday died after suffering heart attack while he was standing in a queue for more than two hours outside a bank at Tarapur town of Maharashtra in the district to exchange demonetised currency notes, police said.

"Barkat Sheikh died due to a heart attack when he was standing in a queue at the Corporation Bank branch to exchange his demonetised notes," Tarapur police inspector K C Rathwa said.

Sheikh, who hailed from nearby Moraj village in Tarapur tehsil, was rushed to a private hospital where he died during treatment, Rathwa said.

"Sheikh had to pay money to farm labourers and needed to exchange the demonetised currency notes. He was standing in the line for around two hours after which he suffered the attack," he said.

The scramble by millions of panicked consumers to exchange banned currency or deposit them had turned tragic on Friday when 3 persons died in separate incidents in Maharashtra and Kerala.  A premature baby in Mumbai hospital died after the doctor refused to treat it as parents could not deposit the necessary ‘change’

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