Odisha Train Accident: Estranged Wife Fakes Husband’s Death for Compensation, Absconding
NEW DELHI, June 7: A woman who faked her husband’s death in the Odisha train collision to claim compensation announced to the next of the kin of the deceased in the horrific accident, has now gone in hiding after the truth was found.
Gitanjali Datta of Maniabandha in Cuttack district had claimed that her husband Bijay Datta had died in the accident on June 2 and had even identified a body as her husband’s. However, after verification of documents, it was found that her claim was false.
Though police initially let her go with a warning, trouble for her started after her husband filed a complaint at Maniabandha police station. The woman is now absconding fearing arrest.
The police said the couple had been living separately for the last 13 years. Bijay has demanded stringent action against his estranged wife for attempting to grab public money and also faking his death. Maniabandha police station in-charge Basant Kumar Satpathy said police have asked Gitanjali’s husband to lodge a complaint at Bahanaga police station in Balasore district where the collision took place.
The Odisha Chief Secretary PK Jena has asked the Railways and Odisha police to take stringent action against people making fake claimants over bodies.
The compensation for the deceased announced by various authorities totalled up at Rs 17 lakhs. While the Indian Railways have announced compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to the kin of each of the deceased, the Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik had announced ₹ 5 lakh compensation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi ₹ 2 lakh from the PM’s Relief Fund.
The Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary goods train, derailing most of its coaches at 7 pm on June 2 and also hit by the Yashwantpur – Howrah superfast train coming in full speed on the down line at the same time. In all, some 288 people died in the accident and more than 1,200 were injured.
(Manas Dasgupta)
