A case came to light on Monday afternoon that exposes how sections of people could have extorted money from the State government in the aftermath of the 2013 Kedarnath flashflood tragedy by submitting fake documents of their losses. A couple was arrested by the city police when they were found fighting over the amount received as compensation, post the tragedy.
Notably, the State government had distributed compensation cheques to the next of kin of those killed in the calamity and to those who lost homes and children to the deluge.
like many others, a couple hailing from Madhya Pradesh had also been issued a cheque of `7 lakh when they had reported that their children had been missing since the tragedy struck their place. The duo was arrested after the documents submitted by them were found fake.
Speaking to 'The Pioneer', Haridwar police station in-charge Mahendra Singh Negi said, "A resident of MP, Ram Kripal and his wife Vidya had quarreled over a domestic dispute and the wife threatened to go to police to hand over the forged documents submitted to grab the compensation. Angered over the threat, the husband beat his wife under the influence of liquor. We got the information from one of their acquaintances."
On further interrogation, the couple admitted the forgery, police claimed. The police said that Ramkripal used to work as a mason in Kedarnath.
In 2013, when the disaster occurred he had allegedly lodged a fake report of his two children being swept away in the flash flood. The couple also lodged a complaint at Haridwar mela control room. Based on their testimonials, the government issued them two cheques amounting to Rs 4 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, respectively. The couple came to Haridwar in search of work after a few months of their receiving the money.