Cuttack: Even as the relatives of the victims of the three-train accident near Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Odisha’s Balasore district that killed 288 passengers and injured over 1,100 others are running from pillar to post to get information regarding the whereabouts of their kin or take them back home, a section of unscrupulous people a trying to make hay amid the tragedy.
Recently, a woman from Maniabandha village in Cuttack district allegedly declared her husband as one of the deceased in the accident to claim the ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh provided by the Odisha government to the families of the passengers killed in the accident.
The incident has been reported from Maniabandha village in Odisha’s Cuttack district. When her husband Bijay Datta came to learn about his wife Geetanjali Datta’s misdemeanor, he lodged a written complaint with the police. On the other hand, Geetanjali Datta is said to be on the run, fearing arrest.
According to the report, Geetanjali and her husband Bijay is an estranged couple who have been living separately for the past 13 years. Not content with their separation, Geetanjali reportedly lodged false complaints against Bijay from time to time to harass him.
Bijay recently came to know that Geetanjali had traveled to Balasore to fraudulently claim the ex-gratia amount provided by the state government to the kin of the Bahanaga Bazar train accident. She said her husband Bijay had died in the accident and claimed the due compensation. However, the authorities were not convinced as she failed to produce any document in support of her claim.
When Bijay learned about his wife’s misdemeanor, he filed a written complaint with the police and demanded stringent action against her.
Geetanjali is not the sole fraudster in this case as reports of several people filing false claims for compensation have come to light in the last few days. As the matter is of grave concern, Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena has urged the Railway authorities to take stringent action against anyone found filing false claims for compensation.
