BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on Saturday (May 2, 2026) sought Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s “compassionate intervention” over an incident in Odisha, where a tribal man exhumed his sister’s skeleton and produced it as proof to withdraw money from a rural bank.
‘Systemic failures’ made tribal man take his sister’s skeletal remains to bank, finds probe in Odisha
Mr. Patnaik, in a letter, also urged the Union Finance Minister to ensure that clear accountability be immediately fixed for this recent incident, which took place in the Keonjhar district.
“I urge you to ensure that clear accountability be immediately fixed for this shocking lapse. This will send a clear signal to all rural banks to guarantee citizen-centric service delivery with empathy and compassion,” he said.
Mr. Patnaik also expressed confidence that with Ms. Sitharaman’s “compassionate intervention”, this kind of inhuman treatment of citizens will not be repeated anywhere else in the country.
