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From poverty to spotlight, Jeetu Munda’s bank account swells
After intervention by Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the district administration installed electricity connections
On April 29, a rural bank in Odisha’s Keonjhar district let the 50-year-old Jitu Munda to withdraw his dead sister’s money after he carried her exhumed skeleton as a proof of death. Following the incident, between April 29 and May 4, donations poured in.
He said that Physics Wallah founder Alakh Pandey donated ₹10 lakh. While Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh on X announced donating ₹50,000.
Keonjhar district administration also provided ₹30,000 from the District Red Cross Fund.
Jeetu Munda said he received ₹50,000 from Khidmat Foundation and a cycle from a local. He also claimed that Rajasthan agriculture minister Kirodi Lal Meena pledged his monthly salary of ₹1.45 lakh.
After intervention by Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the district administration installed electricity connections and enrolled him in a state government scheme for monthly financial assistance. Authorities also issued him a ration card through which he can receive subsidised rice every month. Officials also promised him a pucca house under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin.
On Wednesday, Jeetu Munda said he hosted a community feast in his village Denali as a punishment for exhuming his dead sister. “In Ho tribal community, exhuming the dead is considered a violation of customs. The village elders convened a council and ruled that I must undergo a purification ritual or risk being cast out,” Jeetu Munda said.
A cemented structure now replaces the burial site.
“I have to follow the customs of my community,” Jeetu Munda said. “The purification was necessary for him to be accepted again,” his sister-in-law Gurubari Munda said.
In April Jeetu Munda visited the Maliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank, a regional rural bank sponsored by Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), several times to withdraw ₹19,300 from his sister Kalra Munda’s savings account.
Jeetu Munda claimed that despite informing the bank about his sister’s demise in January, the bank asked him to bring his sister to withdraw the said amount.
An inquiry found that the Kalra Munda had named her husband and son as nominees in the bank which complicated the process since both had died.
On April 28, the bank released ₹19,402, with interest to Jeetu Munda in the presence of local authorities.
