E-Paper
New scam in Madhya Pradesh? Congress leader alleges ₹11 crore withdrawn for 38 snakebite claims
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari reveals ₹11 crore scam involving fraudulent snakebite compensation claims in Seoni district.
A fresh scam has come to light in Madhya Pradesh, with state Congress chief Jitu Patwari alleging that ₹11 crore was fraudulently withdrawn in the name of a man who was reportedly bitten by a snake 38 times. The case has emerged from Seoni district.
Patwari alleged that he has seen various corruptions and irregularities, but what’s happening under chief minister Mohan Yadav’s rule is beyond imagination.
“A resident of Seoni district, was bitten by snakes 38 times and ₹4 lakh was withdrawn each time," news agency ANI quoted Patwari as saying.
He claimed that a total of around ₹11 crore was taken from the state government, all in a single district. “One should see how financial resources are being looted,” he added.
The report, citing unnamed sources, said the alleged financial irregularity came to light when around 47 people were declared dead multiple times with snakebites. A compensation of ₹4 lakh is granted in the case of death from snakebite by the Madhya Pradesh state government for each case, resulting in the alleged scam of ₹11.26 crore.
The list of fake dead residents showed a person died 30 times in different documents, all due to snakebite. Similarly, another person was declared dead 19 times. Various officers are involved in the irregularities, which were investigated by a team of the financial department.
Investigation report submitted to collector
Meanwhile, divisional joint director of Jabalpur (Treasuries and Accounts), Rohit Singh Kaushal said a team investigated the matter and submitted the report to the Seoni collector for further action. Confirming that the irregularities were mentioned in the report, he said, “We prepared its report and submitted it to Seoni Collector and our senior officers. There was an amount around ₹11.26 crores, we have mentioned the facts which were against the norms and submitted it to the collector."
