Post News Network
Rayagada, May 20: A bank official of Majhiguda under Kalyansinghpur block in this district allegedly looted Rs 1 lakh from the bank account of a poor widow which she received from the insurance company after the death of her husband.
According to reports, Rupai Kalka(66), a resident of Kaltiguda village of Gadiseshkhal panchayat under Chandili police limits ekes out a living by working as a daily labourer. While she has a son, her husband died in 2005. However, he bought a life insurance policy when he was alive.
The policy got matured 10 years after his death and Rupai received a cheque of Rs 1,01,510 from the company in April 2015. Earlier, Rupai had approached the authorities of State Bank of India of Majhiguda branch to open a savings account with them as there is no bank in Kaltiguda village. Accordingly, the account ( No. 34488986209)became operational December 12, 2014. She deposited Rs 501 in the account.
Meanwhile, a bank official came to Rupai’s house in April and took her to the bank at his own expenses. Being an illiterate woman, Rupai doesn’t know how to read and write. The name of the official is also not known to her. The official promised her all sorts of help and deposited the cheque in her bank account April 17, 2015.
The amount was credited to Rupai’s account the next day following which she came back home. However, taking the advantage of her illiteracy, the official deceitfully transferred the entire sum to another account of the bank (a/c no 11737569161) the same day, Rupai said Wednesday on the premises of district sessions judge court.
At present, Rupai has approached lawyer Gouri Patnaik to get justice in the case. When contacted, Patnaik said, district legal services authority (DLSA) would serve a notice on the bank to know how the balance of an account was transferred to another account without the knowledge of the customer.
The reaction from the Majhiguda branch of the bank was not available as no one responded the telephone call, DLSA office sources said. Locals demanded a probe into the incident and refund of the amount to the account of the poor woman.
