Krishnanagar, June 2: In what appears to be one of the biggest instances of alleged fraud detected in the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme so far, the Nadia district administration has identified 173 male beneficiaries in Krishnanagar-II block who were allegedly receiving financial assistance under the flagship financial assistance scheme exclusively meant for women introduced by the erstwhile Trinamool Congress government.
The detection comes amid a statewide scrutiny of welfare scheme databases after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari raised concerns over the presence of ineligible beneficiaries, including children and men, in the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. Following his intervention, district administrations across the state launched verification drives, leading to arrests in Murshidabad and Malda in similar cases.
On May 31, Krishnanagar-II Block Development Officer (BDO) submitted a report to Nadia District Magistrate Srikanth Palli, detailing the names of 173 male beneficiaries and recommending their permanent removal from the Lakshmir Bhandar database.
Among those identified is an employee of Belpukur Gram Panchayat, who had allegedly been receiving benefits under the scheme since February this year. The BDO’s report has also named Bhola Shil, a computer operator attached to the block’s Lakshmir Bhandar cell, accusing him of allegedly entering the details of the beneficiaries into the online database, being the portal’s log in employee.
The Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, one of West Bengal’s flagship social welfare initiatives, was launched by the state government on September 1, 2021, to promote financial independence and socio-economic empowerment among women. Under the scheme, eligible women heads of households aged between 25 and 60 years receive monthly financial assistance directly in their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. Currently, beneficiaries from the General category receive Rs 1,000 per month, while women belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities receive Rs 1,200, with the amount having been enhanced in subsequent revisions.
Accused Shil, a prominent Trinamool activist in Dhubulia, has been served a show-cause notice and an administrative probe has been initiated. However, officials said he has been untraceable since the investigation began. A resident of Netaji Palli in Dhubulia, Shil is alleged to have played a key role in facilitating the inclusion of the beneficiaries in the scheme records.
Preliminary findings suggest that the 173 beneficiaries were inserted into the beneficiary list approximately two months before the Assembly elections and that financial assistance had been credited to their accounts since February.
The alleged irregularities surfaced during the process of integrating Lakshmir Bhandar beneficiary data with the Annapurna Yojana database. Officials conducting the exercise reportedly detected multiple discrepancies that prompted a deeper investigation.
During the preliminary probe, investigators found that several beneficiary profiles were created using fictitious female names, forged Aadhaar numbers and fabricated personal details. However, the bank accounts linked to those profiles were found to belong to male individuals who subsequently received the scheme benefits.
“It is also found that Aadhaar numbers originating from Bihar were used with fictitious names and fake photographs. In some cases, even photographs of film actresses were allegedly used in the beneficiary profiles,” a senior official associated with the inquiry said.
The development has intensified political sparring over alleged misuse of welfare schemes. A few days ago, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari claimed that nearly 3,000 male beneficiaries could be receiving Lakshmir Bhandar benefits in Jangipur subdivision of Murshidabad district alone. He subsequently directed law enforcement agencies to accelerate investigations and identify ineligible beneficiaries across all districts.
Meanwhile, Bhola Shil’s family has rejected the allegations against him. His parents, Gouranga Shil and Manju Shil, alleged that he was being targeted because of his political affiliation with the Trinamool Congress.
“I don’t believe my son has done anything wrong. He has been framed only because of his association with the Trinamool Congress,” Manju Shil said.
Diparnab Karmakar, an employee of Belpukur Gram Panchayat and one of the identified beneficiaries, admitted that money under the scheme had been credited to his account. However, he denied any wrongdoing and claimed that his banking details had been misused without his knowledge.
“Since my bank details were available with the block administration, it is quite possible that someone misused them. Once the money was credited to my account, I informed the administration about the matter,” Karmakar said.
The Nadia administration has expanded its verification exercise and similar scrutiny is now underway in other blocks to identify additional ineligible recipients. Officials indicated that the investigation may widen further as beneficiary databases are cross-verified with other government records.
Nadia DM Srikanth Palli said, “A probe has began and show cause notice has been served. Similar checking in Laxmir Bhandar database of other blocks also being carried out to find out existence of any male beneficiaries”.
Last week Chief Minister Adhikari said he has directed the Director General of Police to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged fraud. He also indicated that cases involving large-scale financial irregularities could attract provisions relating to money laundering.
“Along with infiltrators and minors, many male persons have been receiving Lakshmir Bhandar benefits. People like Rakibul Sheikh, Tariqur Rahman and Mustafizur Rahman from Murshidabad have already been arrested for receiving benefits despite being male. These are just the tip of the iceberg. We don’t know how many more there are,” Adhikari said.
The Chief Minister added, “We will try to ensure that only the rightful recipients get the benefit.”