Denied Rs 2,000 bribe, UP Panchayat secretary issues death certificate for living man instead of deceased wife

Lucknow: Angered after being denied a bribe, a panchayat secretary in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district allegedly issued the death certificate of a man who was alive, instead of his wife, who had passed away a few days earlier.

According to the reports, the man, identified as Vishwanath Kumar, a resident of Atwa village in the district, had applied for a death certificate of his wife Shanti Devi, who had died around a fortnight back.

Vishwanath claimed in a complaint filed with senior district officials that he was made to make rounds of the office for the same almost on a daily basis but the certificate was not issued. He also claimed that the Panchayat secretary Sarita Devi demanded a bribe of Rs two thousand to make the same.

He said that the panchayat secretary, a couple of days back, issued his death certificate and handed it over to him.

A shocked Vishwanath on Tuesday met senior district officials and apprised them about the matter. Acting swiftly on the complaint, the district magistrate ordered suspension of the panchayat secretary and also directed for registration of a case against her, reports said.

''Demanding a bribe and then showing someone, who is alive, as dead, is a serious matter....we will take stern action against the guilty,'' said a senior official in Hardoi on Wednesday.

Vishwanath was finally given the correct death certificate later in the day on the direction of the senior officials.