A man in Odisha dug up his sister’s body and carried it to a bank branch to prove she was dead after being refused access to her account without a death certificate, AFP reported.
Mr Jitu Munda, from a tribal community, went to an Indian Overseas Bank branch on April 27 to withdraw money from his deceased sister’s account. But bank staff told him that “withdrawals by a third party are not permitted without proper authorisation”, the lender said on April 28.
Angered by being turned away because he did not have her death certificate, Mr Munda returned to the branch carrying the “human remains” of his sister, who had been buried days earlier.
Television networks broadcast footage of Mr Munda carrying what appeared to be a corpse partially wrapped in plastic, with skeletal legs visible and slung over his shoulder.
“This created a highly distressing situation at the premises,” the bank said in a statement.
It added that the incident stemmed from a “lack of awareness”, and the individual’s unwillingness to follow procedures.
“The claim will be settled on priority, once the death certificate is submitted,” it added.
Registration of births and deaths is mandatory in India. But gaps in documentation persist, particularly in rural areas, leaving many families without formal certificates.
