After Jitu Munda case in Odisha, a new similar case has come to light in Chhattisgarh.
A tribal woman in Chhattisgarh walked nearly 3 km carrying her 90-year-old mother-in-law on her back to a bank to collect her monthly pension of ₹500.
The pension had been pending for four months because the KYC (Know Your Customer) process was incomplete.
As per the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, banks are required to periodically update the KYC (Know Your Customer) details of customers based on their risk category. Customers classified as high risk must update their KYC every 2 years, medium risk customers every 8 years, and low risk customers every 10 years. If KYC is not updated, then the account gets freezed.
The incident was reported in the Mainpat development block of Surguja district. A video of the woman went viral on social media the next day.
In the video, the woman, identified as Sukhmaniya, was seen walking on the road with her elderly mother-in-law on her back.
She told the person recording the video that earlier, a Bank Mitra used to deliver the ₹500 monthly pension at her home. However, the pension had stopped for the last three to four months because the KYC formalities were not completed.
Sukhmaniya, who lives in Jangalpara village in the Kunia area, walked around 3 km to reach the Central Bank of India branch in Mainpat town.
Mainpat Janpad Panchayat CEO Khushboo Shastri said on Sunday that a Bank Mitra had earlier been visiting the woman’s house every month to deliver the pension amount.
She said the pension was last delivered at home in January. The service stopped over the past four months because the KYC process was pending.
On May 22, Sukhmaniya reached the bank branch carrying her mother-in-law on her back without informing anyone. After the KYC formalities were completed, the bank immediately released the pending pension amount of ₹2,000 for four months.
The official said the Central Bank of India branch in Mainpat has seven Bank Mitras who deliver pension money to beneficiaries who cannot visit the bank. She added that from next month onwards, Sukhmaniya’s mother-in-law will again receive the pension at her home.
