What’s in letter boxes? Wallets without cash

CHENNAI: Handwritten letters may have gone out of fashion and letter boxes may not be as conspicuous anymore, but pickpockets have found a way to put these humble red boxes, otherwise gathering dust, to use.

In Chennai, the letter boxes have become depositories of identity cards that were stolen, along with wallets. Around 70 identity cards issued by government and private agencies were found in letter boxes installed across the city in the past six months. Chennai has 216 post offices and 2,000 letter boxes.

Postal department sources said the documents include voter cards, pan cards, driving licences and Aadhaar cards. “Some pickpockets drop stolen wallets after emptying the cash. If a wallet is found inside the letter box without money but with the documents untouched, it is the handiwork of pickpockets,” an official from the department said.

In a few cases, just the card, and not a wallet, was discovered. “This could be some good Samaritan depositing these identity cards found on road in the letter box,” the official said.

Of the 70 such instances since April, post offices in Anna Nagar, Chintadripet, Guindy and GPO areas accounted for 10 each. Recently, two passports were recovered from a letter box at Arumbakkam and handed over to the Regional Passport Office.

R Anand, post master general, Chennai City Region, said recovered identity cards are returned to the respective owners by post or in person. “Whenever our staff come across such documents, they send it to the respective address through post or give it in person by inviting the owners to the post office if any contact number is available,” he said. The person must produce an identity proof to receive the document at the post office, he said.