The Cuttack city police have unearthed a massive postal transaction fraud in which at least Rs 42.05 lakh has been misappropriated from the city’s Chandini Chowk post office between December 2014 and December 2015. The Mangalabag police have arrested six persons in this connection, including four senior postal officials.
“A brother-sister duo of the city in connivance with the postal officials embezzled the public money very cunningly by using the postal cheques issued to them fraudulently,” said Mangalabag PS Inspector Arun Kumar Swain.
Describing the modus operandi of the fraud, Swain said one Parthasarathi Behera, a former temporary employee of the Indian Posts, and his sister Bishnupriya were issued with two cheque books separately against their saving accounts in the post office.
Despite insufficient balances in their accounts, Parthasarathi and Bishnupriya continuously issued cheques at regular intervals in favour of their two relatives, who had accounts in a private bank and a nationalised bank in the city.
“When the banks submit these cheques at the post office for clearance, the dishonest postal officials clear them without any hesitation notwithstanding insufficient balances in the accounts of Parthasarathi and Bishnupriya,” the police inspector said, adding that a lion’s share of this money goes to the pockets of the postal officials.
Besides the brother-sister duo, the police have arrested Senior Post Master Ratikanta Swain, Deputy Post Master Pravakar Pati, Assistant Superintendent of Post Jyotiraj Das and another Senior Post Master Ramachandra Behera in this connection.