After sitting on an indefinite agitation for four days in front of Karilopatana sub-post office by locking the post office, the account holders withdrew their stir on Thursday following the Superintendent of Cuttack Postal North Division after paying a visit to the spot assured the agitators that the department would return the deposited amount.
According to sources, since last Monday, about 55 account holders, who deposited their money at the Karilopatana sub post office by opening account books, alleged that they were apprehensive about their deposits after some of the accountholders found to their dismay that their money had been embezzled. So they wanted their money back from the postal department. Though nearly one and a half years have passed to the discovery of the embezzlement of lakhs of rupees from their account books due to an unholy nexus between the former post master and the employees of the sub post office, yet the postal department had not taken any step to pay back their money despite repeated pleas before the authorities.
Superintendent of Cuttack North Postal Division Golakh Behari Mohanty on Thursday held talk with the agitators and assured that the department was making an arrangement to return their deposited sum of money within three months. As a result, the agitation was withdrawn. Meanwhile, the account holders threatened that if they are cheated this time, they would intensify their agitation.
It may be noted here that Assistant Superintendent of Kendrapara Postal Sub division Radhakanta Pradhan on August 28, 2012 had probed the alleged matter of embezzlement of the deposited money worth lakhs of rupees by the employees of Karilopatana post office.
He had verified the ledger books, records and depositors’ account books. He found that Karilopatana post office master Arun kumar Mohanty had duped lakhs of rupees by issuing fake pass books to the depositors under monthly income scheme and also taking loans from RD books of the account holders.