A tribal man in Odisha’s Keonjhar district reportedly brought the skeleton of his dead sister to a bank so he could withdraw money from the deceased’s account. The man made the shocking move after he was told to “bring account holder”, news agency PTI reported, citing police.
The incident happened at the Maliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank in Patana block of Keonjhar district. The man, identified as Jeetu Munda (50) from Dianali village, wanted to withdraw Rs 20,000 from the account of his elder sister, Kalra Munda (56), who had passed away on January 26, 2026, PTI reported.
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‘People there told me to bring account holder’: Man claims repeated visits to bank
“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. Though I told them that she had died, they did not listen to me and insisted on bringing her to the bank. Therefore, out of frustration, I dug the grave and brought out her skeleton as proof of her death,” Jeetu Munda told reporters
Patana Police Station Inspector in charge (IIC) Kiran Prasad Sahu, who reached the bank after getting information,told the news agency that, “Jeetu is an illiterate tribal man. He does not know what the legal heir or nominee is. The bank officials have failed to make him understand the procedure to withdraw money from the dead person’s account.”
Administration reacts to incident
However, after the incident, the police assured Jeetu Munda that they would help him withdraw the money from his sister’s account. The skeleton was later buried again at the graveyard in the presence of police. Meanwhile, the local Block Development Officer (BDO) Manas Dandpat said that he was not approached by anyone for the legal heir of late Kalra Munda, the report mentioned.
“Today only, I came to know about it. We will see what can be done to resolve the issue,” the BDO told PTI.
The nominee in Kalra Munda’s account had also died. So Jeetu Munda was the only claimant for the money. The local administration has now directed the bank officials to make arrangements and ensure that Jeetu Munda gets the money as soon as possible.
What bank rules say
As per banking rules in India, if a bank account has a nominee, the bank can give the money to that nominee easily. The nominee just needs to submit a claim form, the account holder’s death certificate, and their own ID proof. In such cases, no court papers or legal certificates are required.
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But if the nominee has also passed away, then the money goes to the legal heir(s) of the account holder. In this case, Jeetu Munda became the only claimant because both the account holder and the nominee had died, and no one else claimed the money.
The bank can then release the amount after checking the death certificates of both persons and basic documents to confirm the claimant’s identity and relationship. Once all papers are in order, banks are expected to settle the claim without delay.
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