Woman impersonates as widowed wife of Balasore train mishap victim to claim ex-gratia

While the locals of Bahanaga and Balasore garnered appreciation from all quarters for their selfless acts for the train mishap victims, there are some people who do not even blink for a second to make some easy money unethically.

A woman at Bahanaga allegedly claimed ex-gratia money at the Government Railway Police (GRP) station while impersonating as the widowed wife of one of the rail tragedy victims.

However, she fled the spot after the GRP personnel grew suspicious of her and contacted the local police.

Speaking about the incident, GRP Sub-Inspector, Bikash Kumar Palai said, “The woman came crying to us and identified a body as her husband's. We did not want to question her much given the sensitivity of the situation. However, after completing the paperwork, when we sought Aadhaar ids of her husband and her own, she was unable to present it. We got suspicious and sought help of the local police to ascertain her identity. However, by then, she had fled the GRP station.”

The Railways has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of victims, compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the grievously injured, and Rs 50,000 for minor injuries suffered in the train mishap.

Similarly, the Odisha government has announced assistance of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for those who sustained serious injuries.