Punjab & Sind Bank Bhopal ZM’s Threatening Message Raises Concerns Over Staff Intimidation

Staff in Punjab & Sind Bank’s Bhopal Zone are voicing serious concerns after a series of WhatsApp messages from Zonal Manager Tarachand Meena surfaced, revealing the growing pressure and intimidation faced by employees to sell insurance policies.

A week ago, Meena issued strict instructions that branches in the “NIL category”, those with no disbursal of housing loans, vehicle loans, or insurance policies, must complete targets by August 20, 2025, warning that branch managers would face severe consequences in physical meetings if they failed.

Target Shaming of Branch Managers
In one message, he explicitly threatened: “जो ब्रांच मैनेजर हल्के में ले रहे है उनका physical meeting में बहुत ज़्यादा बुरा हाल होने वाला है… अपने आप को किसी भी बात के लिए ready होकर आना।”
(Translation - Branch Managers taking things lightly will face a very bad time in physical meetings, come prepared for anything.)

Image: WhatsApp messages from Punjab & Sind Bank Bhopal ZM threatening branch managers.

In another WhatsApp group message shared with all branch managers, Meena went further, calling some BMs “नाकारा/निकम्मे” (useless/inefficient), blaming them for the zone slipping to second position in bancassurance insurance sales. 

He wrote: “आज सीधी बात करता हूँ कुछ नाकारा/निकम्मे BMs की वजह से हमारा zone second position पर रह गया… किसी को कोई चिंता नहीं है, बड़े शर्म की बात है।”
(Translation - Today I will speak directly, due to some useless BMs, our zone has slipped to second position… nobody seems concerned, it’s a matter of great shame.)

RBI’s Position Ignored
Despite the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) clearly stating that bank staff receive no direct monetary benefit from selling third-party insurance products, zonal officials continue to push aggressive targets, often linking them to performance evaluations and reputation within the bank.
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Growing Workplace Pressure
Unions point out that such tactics demoralise staff, erode dignity, and create an environment of fear. Instead of supporting branches to strengthen core banking services, managers are being publicly shamed and threatened for not meeting arbitrary insurance numbers that largely benefit higher management through commissions.

The repeated references to “shame” and “uselessness,” combined with threats of physical meetings, highlight a concerning trend of target-driven intimidation rather than healthy motivation.

As the August 20th deadline approaches, employees fear that zonal-level coercion is replacing constructive leadership, pushing morale to new lows.