Sundargarh: A postmaster has allegedly fled after withdrawing lakhs of rupees of depositors in Odisha’s Sundargarh district.
The matter came to light after one of the depositors, Nila Kiro, wanted to withdraw an amount from her saving in the sub-post office at Lanjiberna under Kutra block of the district on March 24. But she was told that there was no money in her account.
Nila was told that Rs 5 lakh had been withdrawn from her saving account on November 21, 2022 and Rs 2 lakh on July 27, 2023. But she claimed that she had not withdrawn any money on the two dates.
When she complained in this regard to the postmaster, the latter told her that he would inquire into the matter. But Nila did not get her money back as the postmaster continued to delay the matter on some plea or other.
Harassed by the postmaster’s attitude, Nila filed a complaint with the district superintendent of the Indian Post on May 29, 2024. Here also, no step has been taken to return Nila’s hard-earned money.
Two other depositors, Sukanti Dhanwar and Pratima Kispatta, has also been duped by the postmaster. Rs one lakh has been withdrawn from their joint account on July 27, 2023 without their knowledge. Another victim, Lalita Bara has lost Rs 60,000 from her fixed deposit after the maturity.
When these depositors along with others went to Lanjiberna sub-post office on Thursday, they found that it was locked and nobody was present in the campus while the postmaster was absconding.
When contacted, the district superintendent said he had received complaints from the depositors and necessary steps were being taken to resolve the matter. The sub-post office would be opened soon, he added.
