Transport firm told to pay immigration officer Rs 3L

Aurangabad: The district consumer disputes redressal forum, Aurangabad has told a transportation company to pay a compensation of Rs 3.30 lakh to an immigration officer, currently posted with Delhi international airport, after all his household articles were reportedly reduced to ashes in a godown of the company.

The transportation firm, ‘Aastha Packers and Movers’, has claimed that all the articles given by officer Shiva Kant Tiwari were reduced to ashes after one of their godowns in Mahipalpur, New Delhi caught fire.

Taking serious cognizance of the complaint, the forum comprising members Sandhya Barlinge, Kiran Thole and headed by Smita Kulkarni has slapped a fine of Rs 3.30 lakh on the firm.

The forum has asked the firm to pay Rs 2.55 lakh for the loss the officer incurred due to the suspected fire at the godown, Rs 45, 292 paid as rent for transporting the articles, Rs 25, 000 for mental harassment and Rs 5,000 for the legal services he had to avail to contest the case before the forum.

On being transferred to Delhi in October 2015, Tiwari had hired the services of Aastha Packers and Movers for packing, transporting and delivering his household articles to his new address in New Delhi. The firm assured the officer of delivering his articles in the next three to four days. Tiwari paid an advance of Rs 45, 292 to the transporter with an assurance of paying the remaining Rs 5,000 on delivery of the articles in Delhi.

In all, there were 57 packages containing clothes, electronic items, confidential documents, LCD screen, washing machine, refrigerator, records of educational qualification, furniture among other articles.

Days after the articles did not reach home, Tiwari reached out to the transporter only to receive vague answers. On pursuing the matter, he was informed that the articles were kept at a godown in Mahipalpur which had caught fire and had reduced his packages to ashes.

“On cross verifying the claims made by the transporter, I found that the godown was too small to accommodate my articles. After I caught them lying, a person identified as Ramesh Kumar tried to mislead me by handing me a copy of complaint which he had lodged for my articles,” Tiwari told TOI.

The transporation firm sent a surveyor who valuated the officer’s belongings at Rs 66,000. Perturbed by the apathy of the transporter firm, Tiwari reached out to the forum and lodged a complaint in July 16. Tiwari said that though the forum has asked the transporter to pay the compensation, the order was yet to be honoured.