Cuttack: Mangalabag police Tuesday unearthed a big postal transaction fraud where cash to the tune of Rs 42.05 lakh were siphoned off from Cuttack’s Chandini Chowk post office between December 2014 and December 2015.
Police have arrested six persons, including four senior postal officials in this connection.
“A brother-sister duo of the city in connivance with the postal officials embezzled the public money by using the postal cheques issued to them fraudulently,” said the Mangalabag police station inspector Arun Kumar Swain.
Describing the modus operandi, Swain said one Parthasarathi Behera, a former temporary employee of posts and his sister Bishnupriya were issued two cheque books against their saving accounts in the post office separately.
Despite the balances in their accounts being insufficient, 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 go to the pockets of the postal officials.
Besides the siblings, the police personnel have arrested other officials, including senior postmaster Ratikanta Swain, deputy postmaster Pravakar Pati, assistant superintendent of posts, Jyotiraj Das, and another senior postmaster Ramachandra Behera, in this connection. PTI