"Man Bitten 38 Times": Congress Leader Alleges Rs 11 Crore Snakebite Scam

NDTV

23-05-2025

Bhopal:
Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief Jitu Patwari has alleged a new scam in the state under Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's leadership, claiming a man was bitten by a snake 38 times and Rs 11 crore was withdrawn for the purpose.
Mr Patwari claimed that such a snakebite scam had never been heard of, and the incident was reported in the Seoni district.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Patwari said, "We have seen various kinds of corruption and irregularities but in the governance of CM Mohan Yadav, one man, a resident of Seoni district, was bitten by snakes 38 times and Rs 4 lakh was withdrawn each time (compensation amount which is provided by state government on death post snakebite). Around Rs 11 crore was taken from the state government in a single district for snake bites. We have never heard of any scam-related snake bite, but it came to light in Madhya Pradesh. One should see how financial resources are being looted."
प्रदेशवासियों,
मप्र के केवल एक जिले में सर्पदंश पीड़ितों को 11 करोड़ रुपयों का कागजी मुआवजा दिया गया! सोचिए, बाकी 54 जिलों में सरकारी भ्रष्टाचार की क्या स्थिति होगी?
📍Bhopal | Press Conference pic.twitter.com/zmBtOHWvKn
— Jitendra (Jitu) Patwari (@jitupatwari) May 21, 2025
According to sources, an alleged financial irregularity has been reported in Seoni district, where around 47 people were declared dead multiple times and that too with snake bite.
A compensation of Rs 4 lakh in case of death due to snakebite, which is provided by the state government, was granted in each case, resulting in the alleged scam of Rs 11.26 crore.
Among the list of fake dead residents, a person was shown dead 30 times in different documents due to snakebite, and similarly, another person was declared dead 19 times. There are various officers involved in the irregularity and it was also investigated by a team of the financial department.
Rohit Singh Kaushal, Divisional Joint Director, (Treasuries and Accounts), Jabalpur, informed that a team probed the matter and submitted its report to the Seoni collector for further action.
"The Finance Department of the Madhya Pradesh Government has instructed us to investigate the issue of Keolari Tehsil in Seoni district, following which we set up an investigation team. I along with the team reached there and investigated the matter. We prepared its report and submitted it to Seoni Collector and our senior officers. There was an amount around Rs 11.26 crore, we have mentioned the facts which were against the norms and submitted it to the collector. We have specified various irregular transactions in our report," Mr Kaushal stated.