Kotak Mahindra Bank sacks officer for Facebook post on Kathua rape victim

Kochi: A private bank was forced to terminate the services of one of its officers based in Kochi after social media erupted over the latter’s Facebook posts making “insensitive and communal” remarks in the Kathua rape and murder case. The Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd dismissed Vishnu Nandakumar, a native of Netoor, who was working as the Assistant Manager of its Palarivattom branch, after the bank’s rating in its official FB page crashed with hundreds of users voting against it demanding it oust the employee from service.

“We’ve terminated Vishnu Nandakumar from the services of the bank on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 for poor performance. It is extremely disheartening to see such comments being made in the aftermath of such a tragedy by anyone including an ex-employee. We strongly condemn this statement,” the bank said in its official FB page.

Earlier, even as the brutal gang rape and murder of an eight-year old girl, who belonged to a Muslim nomadic tribe, at Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir sparked outrage and anger across the country, Vishnu, an RSS worker, took to FB saying, “better she was killed early, or else she would be a bomb to the nation in future”.

His insensitive post instantly invited angry remarks from hundreds of users who started the campaign with hashtag #dismiss your Assistant Manager Vishnu Nandakumar# as the bank’s rating touched a new low of 1.5. Mamangalam Bank Manager Jiji Jacob confirmed that the officer was dismissed and requested the public not to ring up the bank on the matter. “We acted swiftly and condemned his act. We’re receiving hundreds of phone calls on the issue which made the staff unhappy,” he said. Vishnu is the son of E. N. Nandakumar, the elder brother of BJP state general secretary A. N. Radhkrishnan.