In Chhattisgarh, an alleged fraudster opened an online account in the name of actress Sunny Leone and managed to withdraw Rs 1,000 to be distributed monthly to married women in the state under the government’s Mahatari Vandan scheme. This scheme is the main manifesto of the ruling BJP for women empowerment. The Bastar district administration is investigating the matter.
The Indian Express Checked Mahatari Vandan Yojana website where one can check beneficiary details by entering a unique code given to each beneficiary of the scheme. Once the code and captcha are entered, you can download a PDF file and check how much money the beneficiary has received so far.
The file shows the name of the beneficiary as Sunny Leone and the name of the husband as Johnny Sins. The application was received at the Anganwadi level in Talur sector of Bastar district. The file mentions “verified” by the Anganwadi and another supervisor. It is also mentioned that the said person received the beneficiary amount for ten months from March to December.
When contacted, Bastar Collector Haris S said, “We are looking into the matter.” A senior police officer of Bastar said that if a complaint is received from the district administration, action will be taken.
On December 4, the government released a total of Rs 652.04 crore as the tenth installment of the scheme to 70 lakh married women in the state. So far, more than Rs 5,000 crore has been transferred to the bank accounts of 7 million women under this scheme.
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