Postal official files graft complaint against clerk

AHMEDABAD: Assistant superintendent of posts (east) Devendra Bhartiya, 55, has lodged a complaint of cheating against his own clerk, Bharat Makwana. Bhartiya has alleged that Makwana has siphoned off Rs 35,47,560 from the post office accounts of people. According to the complaint, when a customer called Girish Jadhav was trying to close his time deposit account in the Bapunagar post office, it emerged that his account had already been closed and his money — Rs 7,14,000 — had been transferred to the account of Makwana, a clerk in the same branch.

"Later, it was found that nine such accounts had been closed this year — from February 6 to February 11; and on May 8 and 9 — and Rs 35,47,560 had been transferred to two saving accounts of Makwana," a police official said. According to the complaint filed by the postmaster of Bapunagar, Makwana was holding the charge in the place of Babu Prajapati who was on leave.

"Makwana forged the signatures of account holders and closed their accounts," the police official said. "He then transferred the money to his saving account in the same post office. When confronted, he said that the money had been spent." Makwana agreed to give back the money after a departmental inquiry. He returned Rs 7,77,000 and promised to pay the remainder by selling his house.

According to the complaint, Makwana stopped repaying five months ago, and hence the complaint was lodged. "We have registered an FIR and are probing the case," said a senior police official of the Bapunagar police station.