Keonjhar: In a bizarre and distressing incident, a tribal man in Odisha’s Keonjhar district dug up his deceased sister’s skeletal remains and carried them to a local bank branch to prove her death and withdraw her savings.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon around 1 pm at the Odisha Gramya Bank branch in Mallipasi village under Patna police limits in Patana block. Jitu Munda, a resident of Dianali village near Mallipasi, brought the bones in a sack and placed them in front of the bank as “proof” that his elder sister had passed away.
According to sources, Jitu’s sister, Kalara Munda, died two months ago following an illness. She had maintained a savings account at the rural bank with a balance of about Rs 19,300. After her death, Jitu approached the bank to withdraw the amount as her nominee or heir.
Bank officials reportedly refused to release the money, insisting on proper documentation, including a death certificate, as the account was in the sister’s name. Frustrated by the repeated denials and unable to navigate the paperwork requirements, Jitu took the extreme step of exhuming her remains from village cremation ground, carrying the skeleton roughly 3 km on his shoulder under the sun, and presenting it directly to the bank staff as tangible evidence of her death.
Shocked bank employees, frightened by the sight, confined themselves inside the branch and immediately alerted the police. A crowd of villagers soon gathered at the spot upon hearing the news. Patna police, led by IIC Kiran Prasad Sahu, reached the location and counselled Jitu, explaining the need for a formal death certificate and other legal documents, and persuaded him to return the remains for proper reburial.
He eventually complied and took the skeleton back.
Police described Jitu as an innocent tribal man who genuinely did not comprehend the procedural requirements due to his illiteracy and lack of awareness about official documentation processes. “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,” the IIC was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the district administration has directed the bank officers to make arrangements and ensure that Jitu Munda, who is the only claimant as per the rules since nominee in Kalra Munda’s bank account was also dead, gets the money as soon as possible. “I came to know about it only today. We will see what can be done to resolve the issue,” said BDO Manas Dandpat.
