Petlawad (Madhya Pradesh): District and additional sessions judge Omprakash Vohra, awarded 5 years imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹3 lakh under various sections to two individuals involved in post office scam of 2014.
As per reports, the scam began on July 7, 2014, when Asha Devi was appointed as an agent in the post office by the district administration. Her son, Sandeep, in collusion with post office employees, lured people with promises of high interest rates. They duped people by giving them fake passbooks with seals and stamps from the post office.
People were taken into confidence when Sandeep paid them interest at the promised higher rates. Soon, many individuals, including retired employees and professionals, withdrew their savings from their banks to invest with Sandeep, believing they would earn more.
Investigation revealed that the money collected from the people was never deposited or withdrawn through fraudulent means. To fraudulently obtain the deposited amounts, Sandeep prepared forged entries of passbooks in connivance with the responsible officials of the post office. He got the amount deposited in the account by forging signatures.
Following the exposure of the scam, Sandeep was arrested, while Asha and another accomplice identified as Shrenik Munat evaded arrest but were finally arrested.
When criminal cases were registered against the accused, many victims filed claims for recovery in the court that are still ongoing in Class I and Class II courts of Petlawad.
Earlier while hearing a criminal complaint in this matter the then judge Manohar Lal Patidar in 6 separate criminal cases had sentenced Asha Devi, Sandeep Kumar and employees Mangal Singh Ninama and Jitendra Verma. All the accused are locked in Central Jail, Indore.
Victims, including Hitesh Anil Pathak and others expressed their faith in the judicial system, demanding that any recovered funds from the accused be returned to them.
Many victims have been fighting for justice since 2014, and they remain hopeful that they will eventually receive the compensation they deserve.
