Village postmaster tricks a property worth crores.

Bhubaneswar: It is alleged that a postmaster in the hinterland of the tribe in the Malkangiri District used a new fraudulent method to use the Covid-19 pandemic to transfer 2.09 crore depositors’ funds through false deposits and withdrawals. Lachipeta and Malkangiri colony post office Biswanath Podiami made false deposits to some depositors and then withdrew money in their favor without their knowledge. Officials said that the defendant allegedly used the money to accumulate property and built a house worth about Rs 1 million. Others were also booked for assisting Podiami in fraud. The other two were also booked for helping Podiami defraud. During his recent visit to the state, Federal Minister of Communications, Information Technology, and Railway Ashwini Vaishnaw led a rapid investigation and appropriate action against those involved following fraud allegations. “Frauds were reported during the pandemic last year. At that time, warehouse surveillance was affected due to poor Internet connections in Malkangiri and Koraput. This may be the first such fraud in the postal sector,” an official said. The Department of Posts (DoP) discovered that three post office branches in Odisha misappropriated depositors’ funds of 2.44 million rupees. This includes 1.16 lakh rupees. The colony of Malkangiri and Lachipeta post office cost 9.35 million rupees. In addition, the Bhejangiwada post office cost 3.5 million rupees, all under the Koraput department. DoP secretary Vineet Pandey said that investigations into the post office fraud in the colonies of Lachipeta and Malkangiri have begun. The CBI has filed a lawsuit against the postmaster Podiami and two others. Mana Pujari, the postmaster of the Bhejangiwada post office, embezzled 3.5 million rupees instead of depositing the amount into the depositor’s account, registered with various departments of the IPC, and was arrested. “The departmental search and formal investigation of the Lachipeta Post Office case has ended. The other side cases are still under surveillance. The CBI and the police have been urged to complete the investigation as soon as possible. Guidelines have been given to confiscate the principal’s property. The defendant and his family,” Pandey said and reported that through strong and after the IT monitoring fraud, the network has been strengthened. After Vaishnav ordered the investigation to be completed within one month, the police department took immediate action. He warned that severe action should be taken against guilty people. The Director of the General Post Office stated that during his visit to Koraput, he requested a report from the postal service during his visit to Koraput on August 21 because their money was embezzled. Odisha Suvendu Swain when we have information. All real complaints will be resolved within 30 days according to the SOP issued by the department. Depositors in all three branches were required to file appeals because so far only five claims have been received. “In the past two years, 17 frauds were discovered in 7.9 million U.S. dollars. Rupees in the state and personnel involved 12 cases. Approximately 6.4 million rupees have been recovered from them and handed over to depositors,” he added.