Woman declares husband ‘dead’ to avail compensation in Balasore train tragedy, FIR lodged

A woman has reportedly declared her hearty and healthy husband "dead" in an attempt to get Rs 5 lakhcompensation provided by the Odisha government to the families of the Balasore rail accident victims. The matter came to the fore after the woman's husband himself filed a written complaint in this regard. Now the woman has gone into hiding for fear of arrest.

The bizarre incident was reported from Maniabandha village in Cuttack district. According to sources, Geetanjali Datta and her husband Bijay Datta have been living separately for the past 13 years. However, Geetanjali allegedly filed false complaints against Bijay several times and harassed him with the help of the police.

Meanwhile, Bijay learned that Geetanjali had traveled all the way to Balasore to fraudulently avail the compensation amount provided by the state government for the relatives of the deceased. She tried to show Bijay as 'dead' and tried to get compensation. However, she had to return empty-handed after failing to provide the necessary documents to support her claims. After learning about her fraudulent tactics, Bijay filed a written complaint against his wife. He demanded strict action against Geetanjali as per law.

Reports suggest that several people have tried to claim compensation in vain and fraudulently, prompting the Odisha government to sound the alarm.

Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena asked Odisha Railways and Police to take strict action against such fake applicants. "Everyone should be very careful in this regard and take swift and strong action in such cases," Jena tweeted, tagging Odisha DGP, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Railway Ministry.

It is worth noting that CM Naveen Patnaik announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 Lakh for the next of kin of the deceased, while PM Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 Lakh. On the other hand, the railway ministry has announced a compensation of Rs 10 Lakh to the families of those who died in the train accident.