Odisha: Woman drags mother on a cot to the bank as manager wanted physical verification for pension

Shikha Chaurasia

Pune, June 15, 2020: Punjimati Dei, a resident of Naupara district in Odisha went to the Utkal Grameen Bank on June 9 to withdraw Rs.1500 from her mother’s account. Her mother, 100-year-old Labhe Baghel, is bedridden. Later, she was seen dragging her bedridden mother on a cot to the bank.

This video became viral and soon took over social media. She took this drastic step because the bank demanded physical verification of the account holder. The Centre had announced a monthly pension of Rs 500 under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan package in March for women Jan Dhan Bank account holders. This was planned to help people financially because the poor have been the worst affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

When questioned about this, District Collector Madhusmita Sahoo told Hindustan Times newspaper that the Bank Manager Ajit Pradhan asked for physical verification, but the woman did not wait for the manager to visit her home. She said, “As the bank is managed by a single person, it was difficult for the manager to go to the woman’s house the same day. However, the manager had assured her that he would visit her house the next day. Before he would visit, the woman had dragged her mother on a charpoy to the bank.”