In a bizarre case, over two dozen villagers including widows were shown as `dead’ in official records as they refused to grease the palm of officials to get their papers cleared for their pensions in Chandauli.
The sensational fact came to the fore when one of the `dead’ men walked up to a bank and later to the office of Social Welfare department seeking to know why he was not getting his pension.
After coming to learn about the malady, SP of Chandauli has assured of getting a case registered and also get a high-level probe conducted to find out the truth.
Reports said that over two dozen people from Pipriya hamlet of Chakiya thesil not getting government sponsored `Old Age or Widow Pension’ as the money was not transferred into their accounts for almost a year.
One of the villagers, Babu Ram went to his bank to inquire the reason behind it but the manager reportedly asked him to get it confirmed from the office of District Social Welfare Officer of Chandauli.
A hapless Babu Ram then reached the DSWO’s office and was shocked to learn that the pradhan, panchayat secretary as well as employees of Social Welfare department had marked him and other villagers `dead’ in their records.
Babu Ram alleged that the said officials visited their village and asked them to pay a certain amount if they wanted to get the benefit. He claimed that since they refused to oblige the officials hence their papaers were not cleared and they were mismissed as dead despite being alive.
When senior officials of Social Welfare department refused to help the villagers, they contacted SP of Chandauli and apprised him of the matter. later, the SP sent a Circle Officer to enquire the matter and after finding the charges prima facie true, he got an FIR registered and ordered a high-level probe in the matter.