After reports emerged of a teenage Covid orphan being troubled by loan agents for the repayment of outstanding debt left behind by her late father, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman intervened and asked officials to take up the case. The finance minister has asked the Department of Financial Services and Life Insurance Corporation to look into the matter. "Please look into this. Also brief on the current status," Sitharaman tweeted while attaching the news report titled "Orphaned Topper Faces Loan Recovery Notices" with it.
The father of 17-year-old Vanisha Pathak from Bhopal was an LIC agent and had taken a loan from his office. Since Vanisha is a minor, LIC has blocked all her father's savings and the commissions he would get every month, as per the report. Her father died during the second wave of Covid in 2021. She had reportedly received the last legal notice on February 2, 2022, to repay Rs 29 lakh, or else would be subjected to legal consequences, the report said.