Sikh businessman claims bank denied him CD account By Arun Venugopal May 31, 2002 A Sikh businessman and operator of two Burger King franchises, including one near Ground Zero, has filed suit against Fleet National Bank, charging it denied him the opportunity to open a $250,000 certificate of deposit at a Fleet branch because of his appearance. “My civil rights were violated,” said Inderjeet Singh Chowdhary, who wears a turban and facial hair in accordance with his faith. “I have certain rights as a customer and in my opinion I had all the qualifications. I’m a resident and a citizen of this country.” On Aug. 21, Chowdhary visited Fleet Bank’s Carteret, N.J., branch with plans to open a 15-month certificate of deposit, according to the suit. He said he had discussed the matter beforehand with branch manager Alicia Eagleston. After he arrived and began filling out the paperwork with a teller, the transaction was cut short when Eagleston allegedly called the teller to her desk, the suit said. Eagleston declined to comment. The teller informed Chowdhary, 44, that he would not be allowed to apply for a certificate of deposit, according to the suit. Chowdhary claims in his lawsuit that Eagleston initially refused to give him an answer, but finally said that as the branch manager she had the right to look at a customer and decide who can and who cannot open a certificate of deposit. The racial discrimination lawsuit was filed in Middlesex County, N.J., Superior Court last week. Fleet maintains that Chowdhary never produced appropriate documentation but didn’t specify what was missing. The bank also said he arrived too late in the day to process the application – though Chowdhary said he showed up at the time specified. “There were a lot of other people in the bank that day and people felt maybe that I’d done something wrong. I felt very bad,” he said. “I felt humiliated.” Over the next week, Chowdhary said he wrote letters to Eagleston and Fleet’s customer care department, requesting an explanation. But it was only in January, after Chowdhary began communicating through his attorney, that Fleet responded. “We have twice in writing offered to open the account in question and we have not yet received a response from Mr. Chowdhary,” said Jim Schepker, a spokesman for Fleet. However, Ravinder Bhalla, an attorney representing Chowdhary, said the offer was inadequate and too late. “They’re not offering anything that’s not [readily] available,” Bhalla said. Fleet has previously encountered claims of racial discrimination, from employees and customers. In 1996, the Justice Department charged the company with unfair lending practices to lower-income minorities. And in the early ’90s, female and minority workers sued over wage discrepancies. But Fleet dismisses any allegations of racial insensitivity in this case. “Our record stands for itself. We recently received an outstanding rating from the CRA, the Community Reinvestment Act,” said Schepker, referring to a program by federal regulators that evaluates banks on how well they serve low- and moderate-income communities. “That’s the highest possible rating and puts us in fewer than the top 8 percent of banks. If the charge is that we discriminate, the CRA rating clearly indicates we have non-discriminatory practices.” Still, the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force, a Washington-based advocacy group, is issuing a news release today in support of Chowdhary. The group, which calls itself SMART and became more active after Sept. 11, also may organize a nationwide boycott of Fleet by South Asian and Asian-Pacific communities if the bank does not address the situation to its satisfaction. Discrimination against Sikhs “is a problem that’s been in existence for a while and it’s not something that started with 9/11,” said Navtej Khalsa, associate director of the advocacy group. Sikhs are sometimes targeted because to the uninformed, they look like they could be of Middle Eastern descent. “But since 9/11, the problem has only gotten worse. That includes people not being hired or being laid off. Or not being serviced at a restaurant or other establishments.” Arun Venugopal is a freelance writer. Newsday
