Bhubaneswar: A video of a 42-year-old tribal man carrying the skeletal remains of his sister to the bank to prove her death and claim her savings sparked widespread outrage on Monday, prompting the bank to immediately process the claim and release an amount $19,402 the next day in Odisha’s Keonjhar district, officials familiar with the matter said.
The incident took place in Malibasi village on Monday afternoon when Jeetu Munda approached the Maliboshi branch of Odisha Gramin Bank in Keonjhar with the skeletal remains of his sister slung over his shoulder. Jeetu’s sister, Kala Munda (48), returned to her parents’ place after losing her husband and only son and opened a savings account at the branch and deposited money into it regularly until her death in January this year. Her family performed her last rites and buried her near their home in Dayanali village.
According to people familiar with the matter, After her death, Jeetu made multiple visits to the bank using her passbook seeking to withdraw her savings, but reportedly did not inform bank officials of his sister’s death.
During one of these visits, a bank official told him that he would only be able to withdraw money if the account holder was present. A bank official said: “We have asked him to obtain documents proving that he is his sister’s legal heir.”
Believing he needed to physically remove his sister to complete the withdrawal, Jitu returned to his village, exhumed her body, placed the remains in a plastic bag and carried it to the bank.
A bank employee noticed the body lying on the balcony of the branch and informed the local police. A team led by Inspector-in-Charge of Patna Police Station, Kiran Prasad Sahu, reached the spot and convinced Jeetu to return the remains to his village, assuring him that the required documents would be arranged to enable withdrawal of money from his sister’s account.
The police officer added that after these assurances, Jeetu returned to Dayanali village and buried his sister’s remains at the same location.
The Indian Overseas Bank said in a statement that it followed due legal procedures to settle the accounts of the deceased and denied requiring the physical presence of the account holder.
“The incident appears to have arisen due to lack of awareness of the claim settlement process and unwillingness of the individual to accept the procedures explained by the branch manager. The intention of the bank was to protect the interest of poor tribal women’s funds in the account. There is no case of any harassment. The bank is also continuously coordinating with the local authorities to issue the death certificate. The claim will be settled on priority once the death certificate is submitted,” IOB said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Indian Red Cross Society $20,000 to support Munda’s sister’s funeral expenses.
