Probe finds bank at fault after tribal man brings sister’s skeleton to branch in Odisha

Days after the viral video clip of a tribal man carrying the skeletal remains of his sister to a bank branch after the bank officials repeatedly sent him away to bring the account holder with him to withdraw Rs 20,000 deposited in her account, an initial investigation on Thursday (April 30) revealed that the bank was at fault in the matter.

Odisha govt orders probe

After the video went viral, causing an uproar, the Odisha government on Thursday started the probe into the incident. Following the backlash, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi instructed the revenue divisional commissioner (RDC) of Northern Division to investigate the matter.

Also Read: Odisha man digs up sister’s skeleton after bank denies withdrawal of Rs 20,000

Sangram Keshari Mohapatra, the RDC of Northern Division, along with Keonjhar District Collector Vishal Singh and other officials, then went to the Maliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank. The Odisha Grameen Bank is sponsored by the Indian Overseas Bank.

According to officials, Mohapatra checked the CCTV footage and questioned the bank officials to ascertain the circumstances leading to the incident.

'Bank was at fault'

Mohapatra said preliminary investigation suggests that the “bank was at fault” and stringent action will be taken against the officials responsible for the entire episode.

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“I spoke to the bank officials and Jeetu Munda. Preliminary findings indicate that the bank was at fault. Munda and his sister had visited the bank several times in the past and withdrawn money. Munda is not illiterate, but he is ignorant about the banking procedures,” Mohapatra told reporters.

"As there is no audio version of the CCTV footage, we are not able to ascertain what exactly the bank staff told him. Munda was present in the bank from 11.26 am to 11.58 am. During this time, he met the bank manager twice and returned aggrieved,” the RDC said.

Patnaik slams BJP govt

Earlier in the day, during a discussion in the Assembly on the issue of women's reservation, BJD chief and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik referred to the Keonjhar incident to say the "insensitive" state government has "utterly failed the people of Odisha".

Terming the tribal man's ordeal "painful", he said, "Odisha's head hangs in shame as a woman's skeleton had to be exhumed by her family and carried to the bank to prove her death in order to claim her rightful dues."

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Taking potshots at the "double engine government in the state", Patnaik said, "Such inhumane governance has never been witnessed in the history of Odisha." Lambasting the state government, the BJD president said, "The BJP government in Odisha has no right to speak of women's dignity and empowerment. Governance has been reduced to narratives and optics. The chief minister should do some soul-searching before making any more statements."

About the Constitution amendment bill that got derailed in the Lok Sabha recently, Patnaik clarified that the bill on women's reservation in legislatures was passed unanimously in Parliament in 2023. "The BJD had supported this bill in Parliament, and even today we demand that it be implemented immediately," Patnaik said.

He said that his BJD had fielded women in 33 per cent of the Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019 and 2024. "Can the BJP claim the same? Apart from paying lip service to women's rights and creating false narratives to fool the public, what did it do? People cannot be fooled all the time."

Congress condemns incident

Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam also raised the Keonjhar incident and said, "A poor tribal man was forced to dig out his sister's skeleton to give proof of her death. This government has not implemented the PESA Rules to protect the rights of tribals."

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"The Congress has all along fought for the safety and protection of women. We always stand for the rights of women," Kadam said.

On Tuesday, a day after the incident, the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) had said the episode appears to have arisen due to a lack of awareness of the claim settlement process, and the individual’s unwillingness to accept the procedures explained by the branch manager.

(With agency inputs)