Fed up with rampant corruption and loss of money through forgery by a middleman led a Mahadalit man, his wife and three children to commit suicide in Bihar's Aurangabad district, police said on Monday.
Rambachan Rajvansi, a 30-year-old Mahadalit, doused his wife, two daughters, and son with kerosene and set them on fire before killing himself.
Daudnagar sub divisional officer Kamal Nain told
rediff.com over telephone that Rambachan Rajvansi was worried and upset after he was threatened of dire consequences by a middleman Vinod Kumar when he inquired about withdrawal of his money allotted for house under the Indira Awaas Yojana through forgery from his bank account.
"I was told by villagers that Rambachan Rajvansi was depressed after he came to know that money allotted for his house was withdrawn through forgery by Vinod. He was even threatened of dire consequences if he informed anyone," Kamal said.
This shocking incident has exposed rampant corruption and forgery by middleman of funds allocated for houses under Indira Awaas Yojana to the poor in Bihar.
The accused middleman Vinod is absconding after the shocking incident. "Vinod is a known middleman in
government schemes, particularly Indira Awaas Yojana in Haspura block," a local policeman said.
The Aurangabad district magistrate Abhay Kumar Singh has ordered a magisterial enquiry into the case after Singh along with district superintendent of police visited the village.
"Police have lodged a case and have already begun an investigation into it," a district official said.
However, Bihar rural development minister Nitish Mishra said that his department will initiate action in this case only after district level inquiry report was made available. "It is a serious matter if a middleman harassed and threatened a poor man that drove him to commit suicide along with his family," Mishra said.
Only three months ago, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed his anguish over large-scale corruption in the schemes being executed through banks.
"Middlemen in connivance with the bank employees use corrupt means to earn money in the Kisan Indira Awas Yojana scheme," Kumar alleged.
"Police have lodged a case and already began an investigation into it" a district official said.