Raipur: “Sunny Leone” is one of the beneficiaries of Chhattisgarh government’s ‘Mahatari Vandan’ scheme which provides an incentive of Rs 1,000 per month.
It may sound strange but preliminary official investigations have found that a fake beneficiary in the name of a former porn star and Bollywood actor has been enrolled under a scheme launched by the Chhattisgarh government for women empowerment a year ago.
“A fake beneficiary has been found registered in the name of Sunny Leone under the Mahatari Vandan Yojana in Talur village of Bastar district. I have instructed the District Women and Child Development Department to investigate the matter.
I have directed to freeze the concerned bank accounts and refund the amount given to the fake beneficiaries under the scheme,” Bastar District Collector Harish S said on Sunday.
According to the local district project officer, in the preliminary investigation, it has been seen that the name of local Anganwadi worker Vedmati Joshi has been registered as a beneficiary under the scheme.
“One Birendra Joshi has been found to have fraudulently transferred the amount deposited in a bank account opened in the name of a fake beneficiary to his own bank account”, said the spokesperson of Bastar district administration.
Under the scheme, an amount of Rs 1,000 has been transferred to the account of the fake beneficiary every month from March 2024 to December 2024.
An FIR was registered in the case at the Bastar police station on Sunday, he added.
According to official sources, disciplinary action will be taken against local Anganwadi workers and supervisors of Women and Child Development Department in this incident.
About 7 million women beneficiaries have been registered as beneficiaries under this scheme.
The scheme, one of the ruling BJP’s pre-poll promises, proved to be a game-changer in Chhattisgarh’s 2023 assembly elections, returning the party to power in the state.
Chhattisgarh Congress President Deepak Baiz on Sunday cited the issue of fake beneficiaries alleging large-scale corruption in the implementation of the scheme.
BJP MLA Sushant Shukla opposed him saying that the previous Congress government in the state had also failed to issue widow and old age pension.