A female bank officer passed away under suspicious circumstances in her office in the Vibhuti Khand area of Lucknow on Tuesday afternoon. Her brother-in-law has claimed that she died due to illness, but the police are awaiting the post-mortem report for confirmation.
Sadaf Fatima, 45, a resident of Jeewan Beg Lane in Wazirganj, was serving as the Assistant Vice President in the Telephonic Channel department of HDFC Bank, where she also held the position of Team Manager.
On Tuesday morning, she arrived at the office’s training center, located on the third floor. Around 1 p.m., she went to the cafeteria on the second floor for lunch with colleagues when she suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness. Her co-workers rushed her to Lohia Hospital, where the doctors declared her dead on arrival. The family and Vibhuti Khand police were notified.
Inspector Sunil Kumar Singh of Vibhuti Khand police station said that the cause of death will be determined after the post-mortem report. The family has not raised any suspicions.
Brother-in-law Claims Health Issues
Her brother-in-law, Mahzar, stated that Sadaf had been suffering from high blood pressure. Three days prior, she had fallen ill and was taken to the KGMU's Lari Cardiology Center for treatment. After receiving care, she was discharged, and following three days of rest, she returned to work on Tuesday. He added that the family had been planning a trip to Kashmir when the tragic incident occurred.
Akhilesh Expresses Concern
The death of the bank employee came days after EY India came under the scanner over the death of audit executive Anna Sebastian Perayil. Anna's mother had blamed "back-breaking" workload for her daughter's death.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav expressed deep concern over the incident, calling it "extremely worrying" and a stark reflection of the country's ongoing economic and workplace stress. He stressed that the tragedy underscores an urgent need for both companies and government institutions to reassess their priorities and improve working conditions.
"Organizations, whether private or public, must seriously reconsider how they treat their workforce. This is an irreparable loss to the nation’s human resources, and such sudden deaths cast a troubling light on existing working environments," Yadav said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He further added, "The true measure of a country’s progress isn't just the growth in services or products, but how mentally free, healthy, and happy its people are."
