RANCHI: The villagers of Lurgumi Kalan in Latehar were given ration after a gap of three months following directions from the Deputy Commissioner to give it offline.
The decision was taken after 65-year-old Ram Charan Munda allegedly died of starvation in this village on Thursday after being denied ration for three months.
“Ration was kept on hold for the last three months as the POS machine was not working,” said Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Mahuadand Sudhir Kumar Das.
“The deceased was getting all benefits of social welfare schemes, hence it would not be proper to say that he died of hunger,” he added.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Food Minister Saryu Rai Saturday directed the Latehar administration to exhume the 65-year-old’s body for post-mortem in the wake of allegations of starvation death.
Though the district administration turned down the claims made by the villagers, Munda’s daughter said they had not cooked for the last three days.
The public distribution system dealer had written to the Deputy Commissioner for permission to distribute ration offline, but no one paid heed to it.