An Adivasi man in eastern India’s Odisha state exhumed his sister’s body and brought her skeletal remains to a rural bank branch in an attempt to prove her death and withdraw savings from her account, police and media reports said.
The incident took place on Monday at a branch of Odisha Grameen Bank in Keonjhar district.
The man, identified as Jeetu Munda, was trying to withdraw about 20,000 rupees from the account of his sister, Kalra Munda, who died on Jan. 26, according to the Press Trust of India.
A local police official said bank staff had failed to clearly explain the procedure for accessing the funds to the man, who is not formally educated.
Munda told local media he had visited the bank several times and was asked to bring the account holder in person to process the withdrawal, despite informing staff of her death. He said he exhumed the body out of frustration.
Police later removed the remains and reburied them, reports said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Indian Overseas Bank, which sponsors the regional lender, said the incident stemmed from a lack of awareness of claim settlement procedures and the man’s unwillingness to follow them.
The bank said the man, whom it described as being intoxicated, caused a disturbance at the branch after bringing the remains, prompting staff to alert authorities. It added there had been no harassment and that it was working with local officials to facilitate issuance of a death certificate to settle the claim.