Baripada: Several beneficiaries of oldage pension continue to receive their pension long after they are dead in Chuhat village in Suliapada block of Mayurbhanj district.
According to an investigation launched by district administration into the fraud, the beneficiaries are alleged to have received their pension posthumously, thanks to the suspicious role of a panchayat extension officer (PEO) Ashok Mahana who has been allegedly handling the benefits.
The deceased in whose names the pension was being dawn included Harihar Prusti, Kiranbala Sahu, Las Behera and Budhia Marndi. Another pension sanctioned nearly 20 months back are being fraudulently drawn by the said official, it is learnt. The beneficiaries in that scheme are: Sambhari Hembram and Matha Nayak. Their pension is being drawn without the knowledge of the beneficiaries, it is alleged.
On the basis of complaints, an official of Sub-Collector’s office who launched an investigation into the irregularities has exposed the scam in the presence of former block chairman Kajal Marndi, Mission Shakti secretary Mandakini Prusti and other panchayat samiti members.
The beneficiaries, as per official norms, are paid oldage pension in the presence of ward members but how did the irregularities occur without anyone’s knowledge, wondered the villagers and demanded stringent punishment to the guilty.
