India: Dead for over four years, teacher withdrew salary for 18 months in Uttar Pradesh

Dubai: Indian Twitter users, today, shared a bizarre report about a teacher who had apparently died four years ago, but continued to get his salary for around 18 months after his death. The incident happened in Pilibhit district, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Social media users are outraged by the lack of governance of the state authorities.

The deceased who was working at the Bilsanda primary school in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, was later identified as Arvind Kumar who passed away on May 22, 2016.

The incident came to light when recently Kumar's wife applied for the job on compassionate grounds, reportedly.

Facebook user @Komalshah commented: “It’s a shame to the complete governing system. I wonder how it can happen for a long time. Culprits need to be punished."

Reportedly, Pilibhit's district education coordinator, Rakesh Patel said that the school principal prepares the salary sheet. The salary sheet is then handed over to the block education officer. The block education officer forwards the report to the accounts section that raises the bill, and transfers the salary to the bank account of the staffs.

According to a local news source, Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) learned that Kumar had received salary until November 2017. Basic Shiksha Adhikari is a department which takes care of the primary education in the Indian government schools.

Talking to media, BSA officials said: "The irregularity came in light when the accounts section was reviewing credentials of Kumar. Kumar had joined duty as a teacher on November 5, 2015, and he died on May 22, 2016. But the accounts section continued transferring his monthly salary to his bank account till November 2017."

Uttar Pradesh state police officials have filed a case, and the investigation is underway.