A grim scene outside a rural bank in eastern India has triggered national backlash and an official investigation. In a viral video from Odisha's Keonjhar district, 52-year-old Jitu Munda is seen carrying what he says are his sister's exhumed skeletal remains in a sack to prove she is dead so he can access the roughly $200 she deposited before she died. Munda tells the BBC he acted out of exasperation after multiple failed attempts to convince bank staff without formal paperwork. "When the bank manager refused to listen and kept asking for proof, I got frustrated," he said. "I brought the skeleton to show that she had died."
"This created a highly distressing situation at the premises," the bank said, per CBS News. Indian Overseas Bank, which oversees the local branch, denies anyone asked Munda to bring a body and says staff only requested standard documents like a death certificate and proof of heirship—requirements that can be difficult to meet in remote villages. The bank also alleges Munda first came in drunk and became disruptive. The uproar has spotlighted the bureaucratic hurdles facing families when a person dies without naming an heir to their account. Odisha's revenue minister says the incident is under investigation and action will be taken against the branch manager if warranted; officials have now issued the needed documents, released the money to the family, and offered Munda financial assistance.
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