To Withdraw ₹20,000, Odisha Man 'Brought His Sister's Skeleton' To Bank - Here's What Happened

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Disturbing scenes have emerged from Odisha' s Keonjhar district, where a man carried his deceased sister's skeletal remains to a bank after repeated attempts to access her savings were unsuccessful. The incident occurred on April 27 at the Maliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank in the Patana block.

Jeetu Munda, 50, a resident of Dianali village, had been trying to withdraw ₹20,000 from the account of his elder sister, Kalra Munda, 56, who passed away on January 25 this year.

Following the deaths of her husband and only son, Kalra had returned to her parental home, where she maintained a savings account and regularly deposited money. After her death nearly two months ago, the family performed her last rites and buried her close to their home.

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In the weeks after her passing, Jeetu visited the bank multiple times with her passbook, seeking to withdraw funds. He claimed officials refused his request and allegedly asked him to produce the account holder in person.

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Explaining his actions, Jeetu said: "I have run several times to the bank, and the people there told me to bring the account holder to withdraw money deposited in her name. Though I told them that she had died, they did not listen to me and insisted on bringing her to the bank. Therefore, out of frustration, I dug the grave and brought out her skeleton as proof of her death,"

Government orders action against bank staff

Odisha minister Suresh Pujari strongly condemned the incident and said action would be taken against those responsible.

“I have talked to the administration regarding this. Action needs to be taken against the bank employees for this inhuman approach. I will instruct the senior officials at the bank not to treat this as an isolated case and punish the accused,” he said.

He further added,“The death certificate of the person wasn't enough for the bank employees, which compelled the man to dig out his dead sister's remains. Such an incident has never happened in India. The government has taken serious note of the conduct of the bank employees and will take up the matter at the appropriate level to ensure that the accused are punished.”

Warning: Visuals may be disturbing for some

Lack of awareness about legal process

According to Sub-Collector Uma Shankar Dalai, the man was unaware of the legal procedures required to access the funds and acted out of frustration. Officials clarified that Jeetu is not a Class-I legal heir, which is why the bank had requested documents he could not provide.

Patana Police Station Inspector-in-Charge Kiran Prasad Sahu said:

"Jeetu is an illiterate tribal man. He does not know what the legal heir or nominee is. The bank officials have failed to make him understand the procedure to withdraw money from the dead person's account",

Authorities step in to resolve the matter

Police later intervened and assured Jeetu that assistance would be provided to complete the withdrawal process. The skeletal remains were subsequently reburied in the presence of officials.

Block Development Officer Manas Dandpat stated that his office had not been approached earlier for legal heir certification but confirmed that steps would now be taken to resolve the issue.

Bank sources indicated that the nominee on the account had also died, leaving Jeetu as the only claimant. The local administration has directed the bank to ensure that the funds are released to him in accordance with the rules at the earliest.

(With inputs from news agencies)

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