Ballia: A major financial irregularity has surfaced at the Korantadih sub-post office in Narhi, where lakhs of rupees were fraudulently withdrawn from savings accounts over a five-year period. Following a departmental probe, criminal cases have been registered against five former sub-postmasters for alleged misappropriation of government funds and manipulation of records.
Fraud Uncovered During Audit
The inquiry revealed that payments were processed even when several accounts had insufficient or zero balance, raising serious concerns about accounting controls and supervisory oversight within the postal system. Reconciliation of cash books, payment registers and actual account balances exposed forged entries and fabricated withdrawal vouchers.
According to the complaint submitted to police, fraudulent withdrawals amounting to about ₹53.80 lakh were made during the tenure of sub-postmaster Rajesh Kumar between August 26, 2020 and June 25, 2023. During the posting of Awadhesh Ram from July 11, 2020 to May 20, 2022, irregular withdrawals of ₹10 lakh from one account and about ₹5 lakh from others were confirmed.
Further scrutiny found suspicious transactions during the tenures of officiating sub-postmaster Sanjeev Kumar and sub-postmasters Roman Kumar and Chandan Pal. Investigators noted that multiple withdrawal vouchers did not correspond with actual balances and that payment records had been tampered with.
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Zero-Balance Accounts Debited
The report also highlighted specific instances where funds were disbursed despite no available balance. In one case, ₹1.70 lakh was paid from the savings account of Janardan Prasad Tiwari despite the account showing zero balance. Similar irregular withdrawals were recorded in the account of Dayashankar Singh Yadav, while about ₹74,000 was flagged as suspicious in the account of Manoj Gupta.
Dozens of account holders were found to be affected, including Paras, Kunti, Pushpanjali, Mukesh, Bhagamani, Sushila, Sugri, Omprakash, Mutri, Anil Gupta, Shyamvansh Rai, Devanti Devi, Janardan Tiwari, Tulsi, Dayashankar Singh Yadav, Ghurfekan Patel, Santosh Gupta, Ramkawal Sharma, Anish Yadav, Ramvati Devi, Meenu Rai, Manoj Gupta and Kamta Prasad Gupta. Many of them were reportedly unaware that withdrawals had been made from their accounts.
Departmental officials said the discrepancies came to light during routine reconciliation and internal audit. Examination of vouchers, signatures and ledger entries indicated systematic manipulation of paper records to enable unauthorised withdrawals.
Criminal Case and Forensic Review
After the FIR was lodged, police seized relevant registers, vouchers and payment documents for forensic examination. Digital records linked to postal banking transactions are also being analysed to trace the ultimate beneficiaries of the withdrawn funds and determine whether the money was diverted through intermediaries.
Departmental Action and Systemic Concerns
The postal department has initiated a special audit and begun verifying claims of affected account holders. Officials stated that legitimate balances would be restored in accordance with rules and that departmental proceedings would run parallel to the criminal investigation.
The case has exposed vulnerabilities in rural savings account management, particularly the risks associated with manual bookkeeping, delayed audits and cash-based transactions. Lack of real-time verification mechanisms allowed the irregularities to go undetected for years.
Police said the probe would examine possible collusion among staff and map the financial trail to identify where the misappropriated funds were routed. Further action would be taken if additional employees were found involved.
Authorities indicated that more disclosures are likely as the forensic review progresses and accountability is fixed based on documentary and financial evidence.
