Kozhikode/Kerala: The South Indian Bank has announced that it will accept investments from Muslims considering Shariah law, which does not exist in India. The announcement was made by the manager of the Ramanattukara branch of the South Indian Bank in Kozhikode district, Kerala. The bank has issued a notice that interest free investment schemes are available at the branch as per Sharia law, which is available only in Muslim countries.
The notice was also posted at the nearest ATM counter of the bank. The incident became controversial when some of the customers who came to withdraw the money took pictures of the notice and shared it on social media. The bank manager initially tried to justify the incident. As the protest against the scheme hiked, bank manager then unconditionally apologized to the protesters.
The bank withdrew the advertisement notice from the ATM counter after the public informed that legal actions would be taken against the bank for non-compliance with RBI rules.. Later, the branch corrected the mistake by saying, they are working in accordance with the laws prevailing in India and are bound by the instructions of the RBI. South Indian Bank officials said they would investigate the incident and take action against the guilty.