Patna, Dec 4 (IANS): Over three dozen women in Bihar's Purnea district have claimed that they lost money from their bank accounts after casting their vote in the panchayat elections.

Panchayat elections were held on November 29 in Rehua village under Chopra panchayat in Purnea district. As per the election procedure, the women voters' finger prints were taken in the biometric tool before they were being allowed to caste their votes. Soon after this, money vanished from their bank accounts at a Canara Bank branch.

Dukhani Devi, one of the victims, said: "I had Rs 46,000 in my account with Canara Bank. When I went to the bank on November 30 to withdraw some money, the cashier told me that I did not have any money in the account."

Another victim, Vidya Devi, said that she had Rs 5,000 in her account, which has disappeared now.

After the news spread, many women rushed to the bank to update their passbooks.

All the victims claimed that the presiding officers at the polling booths in their village had taken their fingerprints on a biometric tool on the polling day, after which they lost all their deposits in the bank.

"After we came to know of the incident, we urged the District Magistrate of Purnea to initiate an inquiry into the matter. It is a criminal offence where electoral devices are used to siphon off money from people's bank accounts. We have also requested the DM to register an FIR in this matter," said Javed Iqbal, the Mukhiya of Chopra panchayat.