Indian Postal Service officer under scanner for fraudulent transactions

HYDERABAD: Indian Postal Service (IPoS) officer K Sudheer Babu reportedly made fraudulent cash exchange transactions at different post offices in Greater Hyderabad, according to investigators, in fresh revelations following raids at post offices.

On interrogating Babu, the senior superintendent of post offices, Hyderabad, CBI sleuths found that in addition to exchanging 36 lakh demonetised currency in a fraudulent manner at Himayatnagar sub-post office, in cahoots with his office assistant G Ravi Teja and Himayatnagar sub-postmaster G Revathi, the IPoS officer had also exchanged lakhs of rupees of demonetised currency at other post offices in his jurisdiction.

CBI sleuths discovered that at the Himayatnagar sub-post office only 987 cash exchange request slips were found, which accounted for cash exchange of only 36,28,000, whereas the total amount of cash exchanged at the post office was 74,73,500.

On questioning, Revathi told CBI sleuths that on November 12 she had issued 36,00,000 in new currency to Ravi Teja in exchange for demonetised currency on the oral instructions of Babu.

The CBI sleuths have been grilling Sudheer and Teja to identify post offices where fraudulent transactions took place and other officials who may have assisted the IPoS officer in executing the fraud. They were also questioning Sudheer to find out whose demonetised currency he had exchanged and for what commission.

The sleuths have registered a case against Sudheer, Ravi Teja, Revathi and unknown private persons under sections, 120-B r/w 406, 409, 477-A of the Indian Penal code C and 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (d) of the PC Act. With the help of postal vigilance officials, the CBI is gathering more evidence and arrests are likely in a day or two.