RAIPUR, Dec 23 : A man in Chhattisgarh fraudulently used the name of actor Sunny Leone to receive Rs,1000 monthly stipend given by the state government under the ‘Mahtari Vandan Yojana’, a scheme targeted at women, in his bank account, officials said on Monday.
The state government terminated the services of an Anganwadi worker of Bastar district and suspended the project officer and supervisor after the fraudulent usurpation of ‘Mahtari Vandan Yojana’ money came to light, they said.
The man who allegedly committed the fraud, Virendra Kumar Joshi (37), has been arrested and sent to jail, the officials added.
After the news of money of the government’s ambitious scheme going into the account of “actress Sunny Leone” went viral on social media, state authorities launched an investigation.
Following the investigation, the government dismissed Anganwadi worker Vedmati Joshi of Talur village of Bastar district from service. Supervisor Prabha Netam and Project Officer Jyoti Mathrani have been suspended, they said.
Also, a show-cause notice has been issued to the then-District Programme Officer and a reply has been sought.
Bastar police station in-charge Chhabil Tandekar said the man behind the fraud, Virendra Joshi, was arrested under section 318 (4) of the new criminal code BNS (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and produced before a court which sent sent him to jail under 14-day judicial custody.
Virendra Joshi had fraudulently applied for the scheme in the Anganwadi Centre in Talur village under Bastar Development Block through a worker in the name of Leone, who was mentioned as the applicant, another official said.
In the application, the accused had given his Aadhaar number and bank account details as other information required to be furnished under the scheme, he said.
The verification of each application was to be done by a committee formed at the village level, which included the village in-charge/ward in-charge and the local Anganwadi worker. Documents uploaded on the portal were to be tested by the Anganwadi worker in the first verification and by the supervisor in the second stage and approved by the project officer, the official explained.
Anganwadi worker Vedmati Joshi, who is also Virendra Joshi’s neighbour, verified his application in the name of Leone on the online portal without checking facts, he added.
Similarly, the supervisor also verified the application without proper checking, due to which the beneficiary with this fake name got amount in the form of DBT in the State Bank account linked to his Aadhaar number, the official said.
Anganwadi worker Vedmati Joshi has been dismissed for serious negligence, while supervisor Prabha Netam and project officer Jyoti Mathrani have been suspended, he added.
The bank account of accused Virendra Joshi has been frozen and efforts are being made to recover the amount deposited earlier. He received Rs 1,000 each month between March and December 2024, according to the official.
After the case came to light via social media on Sunday, Bastar Collector Haris S had asked officials to investigate the matter and register a case of fraud.
Under Mahtari Vandan Yojana, married women are given financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month directly in their bank account. Widows, divorced and abandoned women are also eligible to take benefit of the scheme. (PTI)
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