Several beneficiaries, against whose names cheques of Rs30,000 were disbursed under the Jamashree Bima Yojana here, alleged that they have not received a single paisa whereas a few said they received only Rs5,000. They disclosed that the remaining Rs25,000 in case of each beneficiary has been misappropriated by the lIC agent and the District Welfare Office (DWO) staff.
The matter has come to the fore following the District Welfare Officer recently issued a letter to those persons, who had furnished fake documents to avail the Janashree Bima Yojana benefits of the lIC, to return the amounts within a week lest legal action would be taken. As a result, several illiterate and gullible BPl persons, against whom cheques have been distributed, are spending sleeplessness nights as they have not received any benefit at all.
According to Sukadev Barik, a resident of Kusunpur, one Bipin Behari Jena, the lIC agent of Mohammedpur, allegedly had offered to provide a subsidiary loan of Rs30,000 in his name. He had told that the District Welfare Office staff would take Rs20,000 and the remaining Rs10,000 would be distributed between them. lured by the words of Jena, Barik had provided all the relevant documents to Jena for getting two subsidiary loans of Rs30,000 each. later, Jena provided him Rs10,000. But recently, two letters came to his house from the DWO, in which Barik has been asked to return Rs60,000. It has also been directed if he fails to return the amount within a week, then necessary legal action would be initiated against him and his son, who is also a beneficiary of the scheme.
“I am innocent. The lIC agent Jena allegedly duped Rs50,000 out of Rs60,000. I did not know that the amount that I received came under Janashree Bima Yojana . When I asked Jena to provide me Rs50,000 so that I would return the amount to the district administration, he did not pay any heed. I belong to a BPl family and eke out my living by doing menial work. How can I return the big amount that I have not received,” Barik told.
Similarly, latika and her spouse Gouranga Rout of Pradhan Patikra village are now a worried lot. They too have got a letter and have been asked to return Rs30,000 for allegedly duping the Government amount under the Bima Yojana.
latika again spewed venom at Jena for luring him to get the benefit. Though Jena had got the documents from the poor family, later he did not keep his promise and misappropriated all the money after it was released in latika and his spouse’s names.
“I have failed to repair my ramshackle thatched house. How will I return the moneyIJ” said another victim Gouranaga Rout of Pradhanpatikra village, who has been directed to return the money.
Notably, the lIC in 2007 had introduced the Jamashree Bima Yojana for the poor BPl persons. It covered life insurance of Rs30, 000 per year against natural death and Rs75,000 against death by accident on a premium of Rs100 per month from the beneficiaries. The lIC office had entrusted the District Welfare Officer as the nodal officer in order to verify the applications with original death certificate copy of the claimants and ask the lIC office to provide the insurance cover to the nominee of the deceased.
The greed to grab the doles made some lIC agents and unscrupulous persons in the DWO to enroll the names of several fake and ghost persons’ names by depositing Rs100 against each.
The fraud came to the fore following the DWO after verifying the documents came to know about the forgery. He knew that as many as 60 fake beneficiaries have managed to receive the insurance cover of Rs30,000 each by furnishing fake and fabricated documents in the district.
The DWO after unearthing the fraud had lodged an FIR in Patkura police station in April last against lIC agent Bipin Behari Jena. Jena was later arrested by the Patkura police.
Jena, however, disclosed that he distributed the booty among the clerks, cashiers and District Welfare Officer.
When contacted, Kendrapada District Welfare Officer Charulata Mallick stated that the matter is now sub -judice and hence denied to give her comments.
District Collector Niranjan Nayak said, “The beneficiaries are taking lame excuses as cheques were issued against their names and money has been deposited in their accounts. As the police has been conducting inquiry and the case is now in court, so those who were saying they were innocent should go to the court to prove their innocence,” adding that whosoever, including the present and former DWOs, involved in the scam would be taken to task.