West Midnapore: The panchayat head of a village in West Midnapore has wished prosperity and success to a deceased in his death certificate. The goof-up of the Trinamool Congress-led Pathra village panchayat under Kotyali police station has drawn flak from the Opposition parties. The panchayat head admitted the mistake immediately after the matter came to light.
Family of the deceased Tarakanath Doloi, who passed away in December 2022, had applied to panchayat head Sarathi Singh for the death certificate. The certificate, which recently went viral on social media stated: "This is to certify that Tarakanath Doloi was a permanent resident of our village. He died on December 1, 2022. I know the person well. I wish him prosperity and success in his death." It was learnt that the certificate was issued by the panchayat head for availing financial assistance after farmer's death under the 'Krishak Bondhu' Scheme. As per the norm, the death certificate has to be submitted at the office of the District Agriculture Officer and final approval is given after verification.
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BJP spokesperson Arup Das said, "Who are these illiterate people running the state?" Mocking the panchayat head, Left Front's Town East area committee secretary Somnath Chandra said, "What else can I say against such uneducated people. Those who don't even know how to write a death certificate are simply uneducated barbarians." However, TMC termed it as an unintentional error. The party's district organising president Sujoy Hazra said, "The panchayat head made the mistake in haste. It was an unintentional one." Panchayat head Sarathi Singh said the certificate was not checked properly before signing.