The Crossbill News Desk
A multi-crore pension scam has rocked Uttar Pradesh’s Chitrakoot district, where an ongoing investigation has uncovered the systematic diversion of public funds through accounts of deceased pensioners.
Officials estimate that as much as Rs 120 crore was siphoned off over a period of more than ten years, beginning in 2014.
According to reports, the irregularities first came to light in 2015, with the largest withdrawals recorded in 2018, The Telegraph has reported.
A subsequent Dainik Jagran investigation revealed that four pensioners who had died in 2018 had their closed bank accounts reopened just three months after their deaths.
These accounts were then credited with substantial sums — between Rs 2 crore and Rs 4 crore each. Following an internal audit that detected the anomalies, senior treasury officer Ramesh Singh filed an FIR on October 17, naming four treasury staff members and 93 account holders.
Investigators have identified at least 95 accounts, many belonging to retired teachers, through which the funds were allegedly misappropriated. The money was routed via multiple banks, including the State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank, and Aryavart Bank.
The Telegraph, citing unnamed officials, reported that although the scam was first detected in 2015 and two treasury accountants — Rajesh Kumar and Manish Kumar — were suspended, no further inquiry was pursued. “Over 90 new bank accounts were opened by treasury officers, sometimes in collusion with family members of the dead pensioners, who submitted fake life certificates.
The pension money, sometimes more than the actual amount, was transferred from the treasury to those accounts electronically. Later on, the scamsters withdrew the money and used it to build houses or buy costly cars,” an administrative officer told the newspaper.
District authorities have since directed all pensioners to submit life certificates to prevent further misuse of dormant accounts. Around Rs 46 lakh has been recovered so far, and a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to probe the case. The state finance department has also initiated a separate departmental inquiry.
Sandeep Kumar Varma, the circle officer leading the SIT, said that since many people were unaware that bank accounts had been opened in their names, “we are also probing how many account holders were operating their accounts themselves.”
The case has gained renewed attention following the death of one of the accused treasury officials, assistant accountant Sandeep Srivastava, in police custody last week.
Police claimed Srivastava fell ill during interrogation on October 18 and was taken first to the district hospital and later to Swaroop Rani Medical College in Prayagraj, where he died the next evening. His brother, Sachin Srivastava, alleged that he was beaten.
Srivastava was accused of irregularities in pension disbursal amounting to roughly Rs 42 crore between August 3, 2018 and October 6, 2025. His death, described as occurring under “mysterious” circumstances, was reported by Hindustan Times.
Amar Ujala noted that he had been in custody for over 24 hours before being taken to the hospital.
The incident has sparked political outcry, with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav calling it “a serious issue” and demanding an impartial inquiry into the custodial death and the pension scam.
Officials estimate that as much as Rs 120 crore was siphoned off over a period of more than ten years, beginning in 2014.
According to reports, the irregularities first came to light in 2015, with the largest withdrawals recorded in 2018, The Telegraph has reported.
A subsequent Dainik Jagran investigation revealed that four pensioners who had died in 2018 had their closed bank accounts reopened just three months after their deaths.
These accounts were then credited with substantial sums — between Rs 2 crore and Rs 4 crore each. Following an internal audit that detected the anomalies, senior treasury officer Ramesh Singh filed an FIR on October 17, naming four treasury staff members and 93 account holders.
Investigators have identified at least 95 accounts, many belonging to retired teachers, through which the funds were allegedly misappropriated. The money was routed via multiple banks, including the State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank, and Aryavart Bank.
The Telegraph, citing unnamed officials, reported that although the scam was first detected in 2015 and two treasury accountants — Rajesh Kumar and Manish Kumar — were suspended, no further inquiry was pursued. “Over 90 new bank accounts were opened by treasury officers, sometimes in collusion with family members of the dead pensioners, who submitted fake life certificates.
The pension money, sometimes more than the actual amount, was transferred from the treasury to those accounts electronically. Later on, the scamsters withdrew the money and used it to build houses or buy costly cars,” an administrative officer told the newspaper.
District authorities have since directed all pensioners to submit life certificates to prevent further misuse of dormant accounts. Around Rs 46 lakh has been recovered so far, and a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to probe the case. The state finance department has also initiated a separate departmental inquiry.
Sandeep Kumar Varma, the circle officer leading the SIT, said that since many people were unaware that bank accounts had been opened in their names, “we are also probing how many account holders were operating their accounts themselves.”
The case has gained renewed attention following the death of one of the accused treasury officials, assistant accountant Sandeep Srivastava, in police custody last week.
Police claimed Srivastava fell ill during interrogation on October 18 and was taken first to the district hospital and later to Swaroop Rani Medical College in Prayagraj, where he died the next evening. His brother, Sachin Srivastava, alleged that he was beaten.
Srivastava was accused of irregularities in pension disbursal amounting to roughly Rs 42 crore between August 3, 2018 and October 6, 2025. His death, described as occurring under “mysterious” circumstances, was reported by Hindustan Times.
Amar Ujala noted that he had been in custody for over 24 hours before being taken to the hospital.
The incident has sparked political outcry, with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav calling it “a serious issue” and demanding an impartial inquiry into the custodial death and the pension scam.
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