Sikh civil rights group threatens nationwide economic boycott of Fleet Bank. Washington, DC — A Sikh businessman filed a lawsuit last week against Fleet Bank, alleging that its Carteret, New Jersey branch discriminated against him in refusing to allow him to open a CD account with the bank. “We look at the customer and then decide,” Inderjeet S. Chowdhary was told when he asked Alicia Eagleston, Assistant Vice-President, why she refused to open an account for him. Chowdhary, a former Captain in the U.S. Merchant Marines, is a Sikh American of South Asian ethnic descent and wears a turban and beard – mandatory requirements of his faith. Chowdhary’s letter regarding the incident to Fleet Bank’s customer service department was ignored. “It’s a shame that Fleet Bank has chosen to ignore this serious issue,” said Chowdhary who owns leading restaurant franchises in New York and New Jersey. In response to Fleet Bank’s treatment of Chowdhary, the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Taskforce (SMART), a Sikh civil rights advocacy group, is contemplating calling upon the Asian American community, including the Indian and Sikh communities, to participate in an economic boycott of Fleet Bank nationwide until his complaint is satisfactorily addressed. “Unless Fleet Bank takes affirmative steps to resolve Mr. Chowdhary’s problem, and to demonstrate their acceptance of religious and cultural diversity among their customers, we will urge Asian Americans to close their accounts at Fleet Bank and take their business elsewhere,” SMART’s Executive Director Manjit Singh said. “First, however, we will evaluate Fleet’s response to Chowdhary’s lawsuit before taking further action,” he added. Chowdhary’s lawsuit, among other things, seeks to mandate racial, cultural and religious sensitivity training of all employees, officers and agents of Fleet Bank to ensure the civil rights protection of the bank’s potential customers. Chowdhary is also seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
