Hubby's complaint exposes 'widow pension' scam

Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district, who had tied the nuptial knot barely a few months ago, had the shock of his life, when he found that his wife was "officially" a widow.

The shocking fact came to his knowledge a few days ago after he went through the details of his wife's bank account. He found that his wife had been receiving money under the widow pension scheme of the state government.

In fact, his wife had been receiving the pension for several years before her marriage.

Since then, Kumar has been running from pillar to post to prove that he was alive and kicking, and that the pension should be stopped and the guilty officials should be punished, without any success.

More shocks were in store for Kumar.

He later found he was not alone. There were many husbands, who were alive, but their wives had become widows and had been receiving the pension under the scheme.

A preliminary investigation revealed that over 20 women, many of whom must have kept fast on 'Karwa Chauth' (a fast kept by married women for the well being of their husbands), all residents of the village of Kumar's wife, have been receiving the widow pension.

District officials have ordered a probe into the matter and an employee of the probation office has also been dismissed from service, according to sources.