Bhagalpur: Rani Devi, a Dalit woman employee with the Bhagalpur district board, will never forgive the people involved in the over Rs 1,000 crore Srijan scam. Reason: She lost her brother Sajan on Friday as she couldn't arrange money for his treatment.

Rani's woes didn't end there. She, along with other members of the family, had to beg for alms in the neighbourhood to conduct the last rites of Sajan, who died due to lack of proper treatment.

Rani, a Grade IV employee, has not received her salary for the last four months.

Rani is among the 17 employees of the district board who have not been paid their salary since the scam came to the fore in August this year. "Rani had visited the office on December 9 also. She was seen begging before the officials for her salary as her brother was sick. But nobody paid heed to her repeated requests," one of the employees said.

Rani blamed the Srijan scamsters and the officials concerned for the death of her brother. "I reached the Zila Parishad office with the body of my brother and sought financial help for conducting his funeral. However, no help came as none of the officials were present in the office," Rani said, her voice choking.

On some employees' suggestion, she then went to the district collectorate office. There the guards at the main entrance refused permission to her to meet either deputy development commissioner Anand Sharma or the in-charge of the district rural development agency, Sanjay Kumar.

Rani returned home empty-handed and went out to beg for alms in the locality. "Whatever I could collect as donation from people spent on the funeral and other related rituals," the 38-year-old Rani said.

Rani's sisters - Meena Devi and Sugni Devi - were equally angry. "My brother became the first victim of the Srijan scam. This may happen with other employees as well," Meena told this paper.

Rani was appointed on compassionate ground after the death of her father in 1997. She has been living in her parents' house after her husband deserted her.

Devanti Devi, another grade IV employee, said her granddaughter would be compelled to discontinue her studies as the school has given an ultimatum for fee payment.