Acting with alacrity on three fraud cases to which people had drawn the attention of Communication, IT, and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during his visit to Koraput last week, the postal department handed over the cases to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and sought attachment of properties of errant postmasters.
Postal secretary Vineet Pandey said claims of the defrauded people will be settled within 30 days. The departmental investigation has already been completed in the Lachipeta Post office case.
“There will be no compromise on public trust in the Postal System and the system will be continuously strengthened to avert the causes of corruption and fraud”, said Vineet Pandey.
He informed about the “pro-active action” in dealing with the fraud cases in Odisha following the visit of Union Minister Vaishnaw. Vinaya Prakash Singh, Senior DDG (Vigilance) & Chief Vigilance Officer, and other senior officials of the Department of Posts as well as Suvendu Swain, Chief Postmaster General, Odisha were at a conference held on virtual mode to deal with the fraud.
Three fraud cases of Lachipeta, Malkangiri Colony, and Bhejangiwada Post Offices of Koraput Division were brought to the notice of Minister Vaishnaw by the members of the public and the media.
All the concerned Postmasters have already been placed under suspension.
The frauds at Lachipeta and Malkangiri Colony Post Offices committed by Biswanath Podiami have been reported to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Mana Pujari, Branch Postmaster of Bhejangiwada has been arrested by the police.
The departmental investigation has already been completed in the Lachipeta Post office. Preliminary investigations in the other two cases have been completed by the department, informed Pandey.
The affected depositors can file their claims which will be settled in one month time, he said