An Indian man has carried his sister’s corpse into a bank branch to prove she had died and withdraw money from her account.
Jeetu Munda, aged in his 50s, took the skeletal remains of his sister Kalra Munda, who died on January 26, to the Malliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank in Keonjhar district, in the state of Odisha in the country’s east.
Mr Munda said he visited the bank several times and told staff she was dead but they kept insisting the account holder must appear in person to withdraw her savings of 19,300 rupees (around $280 AUD).
“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,” Mr Munda said.
“Though I told them that she had died, they did not listen to me and insisted on [me] bringing her to the bank. Therefore, out of frustration, I dug [up] the grave and brought out her skeleton as proof of her death.”
Video that has gone viral in India shows Mr Munda carrying his sister’s remains wrapped in a sack and placing it outside the entrance to the bank.
A government probe reviewed CCTV footage of the incident, and revenue divisional commissioner Sangram Keshari Mohapatra said the footage showed bank officials knew the siblings and their body language indicated negligence, The Indian Express reported.
Local police, who assisted Mr Munda after the incident, described him as an illiterate tribal man who did not understand the legal heir or nominee process, and the inspector-in-charge said bank staff had failed to explain the correct procedure for withdrawing money from a deceased person’s account.
The bank disputed Mr Munda’s claims, and officials said this was his first visit, he was in an “inebriated state”, BBC reported, and they only asked for a death certificate and proper documents.
Ms Munda’s remains were reburied under supervision and the bank later released the funds once authorities issued a death certificate and legal heir documents.
Header image: Left, Mr Munda carrying the corpse to the bank (supplied). Right, Mr Munda sitting outside the bank (BBC Hindi).
