Odisha skeleton episode: Jeetu Munda gets help from several govt schemes, private donations

Bhubaneswar/Keonjhar: The Odisha man who hit the headlines for carrying his sister's skeleton to a bank as proof of death to withdraw her money has been made the beneficiary of a slew of government schemes and received private donations.

After the intervention of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the district administration of Keonjhar provided immediate social security benefits to 50-year-old Jeetu Munda, officials said on Friday.

Munda and his brother’s house have been provided with electricity connections within hours of the visit of Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Northern Division, S K Mohapatra, to his village Dianali under Patana block on Thursday to inquire into the matter.

He has also been enrolled in a state government scheme for monthly financial assistance, while the authorities have issued him a ration card through which he would now avail 35 kg of rice free of cost every month, officials said.

Immediately after the skeleton episode came to the fore on April 27, the state government arranged a death certificate and the legal heir of his dead sister and the money deposited in her name was given to Jeetu Munda within 24 hours.

The tribal man had exhumed the skeletal remains of his sister Kalra Munda (56), who died in January. He then walked around three kilometres to the Maliposi branch of the Odisha Grameen Bank and produced it before the official as proof of her death. A video of Munda carrying the skeleton has gone viral.

A day after the incident, the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), the sponsor of the rural bank, 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.

Munda insisted that the bank told him to bring her sister to withdraw the money.

“I was asked to produce my sister at the bank to withdraw money. When I informed them she had died, they still insisted on bringing her for a signature. Therefore, I dug the grave and brought the skeleton,” he told the RDC, who met him at his village on Thursday.

The 50-year-old said he is not ashamed of the entire episode, Munda said, “Had I not brought the skeleton to the bank, they would not have given our family’s money deposited in name of my sister, who is dead. I have not done anything wrong. What can one do if his grievances are not heard by the bank officers?”

Keonjhar district Collector Vishal Singh said immediately after learning of the incident, Munda was given an assistance of Rs 30,000 from the District Red Cross Fund.

“The administration prioritised humanity over procedure. He was handed over the total amount of Rs 19,402, including interest, from the account of his sister” Singh said.

Munda also received donations from private entities.

A Delhi-based coaching centre deposited Rs 10 lakh in the name of Jeetu Munda at a bank in Keonjhar, while AAP MP Sanjay Singh has donated Rs 50,000 to him.

In an X post, Singh took a potshot at the “double-engine government” for the incident and said, “I have sent Rs 50,000 in assistance from my salary. State President @nishimohapatra and the AAP team went and spoke with Jitu Munda ji.” He also claimed there is a problem with water in Munda’s village, and the team will resolve that too.

Preliminary findings of the government probe into the episode indicate that the bank staff “did not cooperate with him”, an official said on Thursday.