Vizianagaram: Villagers shocked to receive money from unknown source

Salur (Vizianagaram): Hundreds of villagers of Sivaramapuram, a remote village in Vizianagaram district, were in for a surprise on Wednesday when money from unknown sources in the range of Rs 13,500 to Rs 16,000 has been deposited in their bank accounts.

This happened to nearly 200 people in this hamlet, which has about 600 households. The villagers were left perplexed with the unexplained cash inflow into their accounts as they had already withdrawn the financial assistance received under Rythu Bharosa and other welfare schemes.

They are supposed to receive the next tranche of financial assistance under Jagananna Amma Vodi on January 9. According to the villagers, the money came into the accounts of several landless people and those who have not registered their names for any welfare schemes.

While the cautious people alerted the bank officials, some people started withdrawing the money to spend it on Sankranti festival shopping. The officials were also clueless on the deposits. When contacted, the lead bank manager K Srinivas said, "Actually we too don't know, what has happened. We have to look into the issue. We will contact our department concerned and get to know soon."