Orphaned topper from Bhopal, who lost both parents to COVID, battles loan recovery notices

Vanisha Pathak, the Bhopal topper who wrote a poem ‘I’ll stand tall without you, Papa,’ after scoring 99.8% in her Class X board within months of losing both her parents to Covid, is now struggling with legal notices on a home loan her father had taken.

Her father Jeetendra Pathak was an LIC agent and had taken a loan from office. Since Vanisha is a minor, LIC has blocked all his savings and the commissions he would get every month. Vanisha told TOI that she has written several times to the authorities to give her time to repay the loan as she is 17 but there is silence from the other end.

Vanisha won’t get any other notice till she’s 18, says LIC official

When TOI contacted the local LIC office, officials said her application has been sent to the central office, but Vanisha, who has a little brother to take care of, is in the dark.

She started receiving legal notices in the name of her father to pay the dues or ‘be ready to face legal action’. She received the last legal notice on February 2, 2022, to repay Rs 29 lakh.

Vanisha’s parents died of Covid in May 2021 during the devastating second wave. Fighting through shock and agony, she looked at her young brother and decided she had to fight, eventually scoring close to a perfect 100 in her Class X board.

While the feisty schoolgirl was fighting off fate, the legal notices about her father’s dues came as a shock.

She is now in the care of her maternal uncle, Prof Ashok Sharma. In her letters to LIC, she has written: “My father was a member of Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) club, a renowned insurance club. Both my father Jeetendra Pathak and mother Seema Pathak passed away due to Covid in May 2021. I and my 11-year-old brother Vivan are minors and Covid orphans. Since we are under-age, all my father’s policies and his monthly commissions could not be withdrawn as per the rule. With all of the economic and financial income sources blocked, we have no source of income. Thus, all the repayment of the debts can be done only when I turn 18.”

Surprisingly, LIC has not even responded to her letters.

Vanisha’s uncle said: “I am taking care of both children and I do not have the resources to repay such high dues. Jeetendra was a big league LIC agent and it was expected that the insurance company would reciprocate. We have not received any- thing in writing from LIC that they have considered our request.”

When TOI contact senior LIC officials here, they said Vanisha’s request was sent to the higher-ups at the central officer. “He was my agent.

Vanisha’s uncle sent an application and I have forwarded it to the higher authorities. Though there was nothing in writing, I had informed the family that they will not get any further notices till the time she completes 18 years of age,” said LIC’s development officer Sanjay Barnwal.

Prof Sharma isn’t convinced. He said, “The way they sent the notice, they could have sent a letter that we will not receive any legal notice till she completes 18. We were expecting at least some waiver but nothing has been done to date,” said Prof Sharma. “They have asked us to pay not only the interest but also the penalties,” said Vanisha.