Ground Report: “Government, consider me alive”, Dalit pleads to the collector for justice, Panchayat declares a living person dead
The fraud came to light when the complainant, Naresh Ahirwar, applied for online registration under the Sabal Scheme after his wife’s delivery.
Published on: 06 Jan 2025, 2:15 pm
Bhopal. A case has come to light from Bagalkhedi village of Makhannagar tehsil of Narmadapuram district of Madhya Pradesh, which has raised serious questions about government process and corruption. Here a Dalit man was declared dead in the documents in the year 2020 and Rs 5 thousand were withdrawn in the name of his ‘funeral assistance’. This fraud was revealed when the complainant, Naresh Ahirwar, applied for online registration under the Sabal scheme after his wife’s delivery. The Mooknayak investigated this entire matter, here is our ground report.
How did the matter come to light?
Naresh Ahirwar, resident of Bagalkhedi, said that in the year 2020, the then secretary of the Gram Panchayat Sanju Ahirwar and former Sarpanch Surekha Yadav declared him dead in government documents. Not only this, on July 13, 2020, Rs 5000 was also withdrawn in his name as funeral assistance. Naresh came to know about this fraud when he applied for the benefit of the Sabal Yojana after the delivery of his wife Bharti Ahirwar on 23 November 2024.
Naresh Ahirwar showing the complaint letter outside his house. Photo: Ankit Pachauri, The Mooknayak
Complaints and threats
Naresh lodged a complaint against this fraud to the Collector’s Office and Superintendent of Police on 24 December 2024. But, after this complaint, Naresh is facing harassment.
On January 1, 2025, at Nasirabad crossing, Naresh was stopped by Madanlal Ahirwar, father of former secretary Sanju Ahirwar, and abused and threatened. Madanlal said, “Your complaint will not harm my son. I will teach you a lesson.”
This incident is not limited to the harassment of one person; it highlights the corruption prevailing at the village level and the flaws in the government system. Naresh submitted several applications to prove himself alive in government documents. But, no concrete action has been taken against the culprits yet.
Screenshot of Sambal 2.0 portal where records were deleted from the portal after being declared dead
What is the law?
If a person misappropriates government schemes and embezzles money, it is a crime under Section 420 (fraud) and other related sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). At the same time, threatening and abusing is punishable under Section 504 and 506 of the IPC.
Naresh Ahirwar, while talking to The Mooknayak, said, “It is very shameful and painful for me that I have been declared dead in government records. Due to this fraud, I could not even avail the benefits of the Sabal scheme for my wife. When I tried to expose this, I have been receiving threats. I just want strict action against the culprits and my identity and rights to be protected.”
He further said, “Some influential people of the village and the Panchayat officials are misusing the schemes. I run my family by doing hard labour. In such a situation, I have suffered financially and mentally due to such fraud. I have also appealed to the Collector and Superintendent of Police for justice, but no concrete action has been taken so far.”
Gram Panchayat robbed five thousand rupees in the name of funeral
Former Sarpanch and Secretary committed embezzlement
Rambharosh Yadav, the current sarpanch of Bagalkhedi, confirmed to The Mooknayak that Naresh Ahirwar was declared dead in government records during the last tenure. He said, “It is true that Naresh was declared dead and the funds of the schemes were embezzled. Because of this, he is not able to avail the benefits of any government scheme now.”
Rambharosh further said that this matter is from the time when Sarpanch Surekha Yadav and Secretary Rajendra Dubey were in office. He said, “All this happened during their tenure. This is a serious irregularity, and I want the administration to investigate this and take strict action against the culprits.”
The Mooknayak tried to contact Narmadapuram Collector Sonia Meena (IAS) in this regard, but she did not receive the call. A text message was also sent to her, but no reply was received till the time of writing the news.
