Post office scam: 200 notices issued to account holders

PANCHKULA: Around 200 notices have been issued to account holders in Devi Nagar to get their accounts checked. This comes after The Times of India carried a report on a major scam, in which branch postmaster of Devi Nagar post office Raj Bala allegedly withdrew money from more than 100 accounts. She was suspended the next day. As of now, officials have conceded to fraud worth around Rs 8 lakh and they are not ruling out the possibility of the figure crossing the Rs 10 lakh mark.
Panchkula sub divisional inspector (Post) Pankaj Jain has taken the statement of the suspended officer, who has confessed to the fraud. "We will have to record her statement in each and every case. Till now, she has accepted that she cheated people. We have issued a large number of notices asking people to reach the post office to get their account balance checked. Till date, we have checked around 150 accounts and the fraud is expected to cross Rs 10 lakh", said Jain.
What makes things more difficult is officials failing to locate people who have shifted their residence. "Earlier, there were colonies around Devi Nagar. But after they were demolished, people moved and we are finding it difficult to contact them. I will submit my report to the head office in Ambala after which the department will take appropriate action against her. Police will be contacted later", said Jain.
Earlier, Bala said she would return the money in three days but so far she has given only Rs 50,000 to the department. People are visiting the post office on a regular basis to get their money back. "We are poor and the money in our accounts was earned honestly after a lot of hard work. She still has to return our money. Moreover, she has pass books of many accounts holders and the scandal that will come out will be a lot bigger," said Rajesh Sharma, a Devi Nagar resident.