Bhubaneswar/Keonjhar: A day after a tribal man carried his sister’s skeleton to a bank in Odisha’s Keonjhar district to withdraw money, state minister Suresh Pujari said there was a “lack of humanitarian approach” and the government would ensure proper action against the officials concerned.
The Opposition BJD and the Congress too condemned the incident and took potshots at the BJP government in the state, pointing out that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi represents Keonjhar in the state Assembly.
In a social media post, BJD referred to the sight of the man carrying his sister’s skeleton on his shoulder and said, “An unimaginable sight in the Chief Minister’s district, crossing all limits of cruelty.”
The Congress’ state unit, in a post on X, said, “This is truly unfortunate. Such harassment by bank officials must stop.”
Expressing disgust over the incident, Odisha’s revenue and disaster management minister Pujari said, “The death certificate was not sufficient for the bank officials, and the man had to dig out a skeleton from the grave to prove that the account holder was dead.”
“A humanitarian approach was lacking in the whole episode. I have spoken to senior officers of the local administration. The government has taken serious note of the incident. We will ensure that the banking officials who are responsible for this are punished,” he added.
The incident occurred at the Maliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank Monday.
Jeetu Munda (50) of Dianali village was seeking to withdraw Rs 20,000 from the bank account of his elder sister, Kalra Munda (56), who died January 26.
“I visited the bank several times. Though I told them that my sister had died, they kept insisting that I bring her to the bank to withdraw the money deposited in her name,” Jeetu Munda said.
Upon seeing the skeleton, the frightened bank officials immediately informed the local police.
Following police intervention, the remains were taken back to the graveyard and buried again, said Kiran Prasad Sahu, the inspector in charge of the Patana police station.
“Jeetu is illiterate. He does not know what a legal heir or a nominee is. The bank officials failed to make him understand the procedure to withdraw money in case of a kin’s death,” the police officer said.
According to bank sources, the nominee of Kalra Munda’s account, her elder brother Raibu Munda, was also dead. Therefore, Jeetu Munda was the lone claimant over the money deposited in her name.
PTI
