The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a former postal official who had been absconding for several years in connection with an alleged ₹13.98 lakh post office savings fraud in Odisha. The agency said Shabda Swain, the former Branch Post Master of Bonda Post Office, was arrested from Bargarh while she was attending a family function.
According to the CBI, Swain allegedly misappropriated ₹13.98 lakh collected from depositors during her posting as Branch Post Master at Bonda Post Office between 2008 and 2014. The agency alleged that deposits made by customers were not properly entered into official records and that false entries were made in passbooks to conceal the transactions.
The case was registered by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in Bhubaneswar on the basis of allegations relating to the diversion of depositors’ money. The investigation subsequently progressed before the competent court, where charges against the accused were framed on December 31, 2015.
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However, Swain allegedly remained absconding after the charges were framed. A non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued against her in 2022 as authorities continued efforts to trace and apprehend her.
The CBI said sustained efforts eventually led investigators to locate the accused in Bargarh. She had reportedly travelled there to attend a family function when she was apprehended by the agency.
Following her arrest, Swain was produced before the competent court in Bhubaneswar. Further proceedings in the case will now continue in accordance with the law. The investigation centres on the alleged diversion of depositors’ funds, the post office’s financial records and the purported manipulation of passbook entries.
The case highlights the importance of maintaining accurate records of public deposits and ensuring that transactions reflected in customers’ passbooks correspond with official financial records. The alleged irregularities came to light in connection with transactions carried out during Swain’s tenure at the Bonda Post Office.
Former Bank Manager Sentenced to Five Years in Bribery Case
In a separate corruption case, a Special CBI Court in Lucknow has sentenced a former bank branch manager to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹25,000.
The case relates to Baroda UP Gramin Bank’s Hariharpur branch in Sultanpur. The CBI registered the case on March 12, 2018, against then Branch Manager Rakesh Chandra Thakur.
According to the prosecution case, a complainant alleged that Thakur demanded an illegal gratification of ₹6,000 for releasing the first instalment of his ₹4.25 lakh Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loan.
After receiving the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and caught Thakur allegedly demanding and accepting ₹6,000 from the complainant. The agency subsequently completed its investigation and filed a charge sheet on May 10, 2018.
The court framed charges against Thakur on December 21, 2020. After completion of the trial, the Special CBI Judge of the Anti-Corruption Court in Lucknow sentenced him on August 25 to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a ₹25,000 fine.
The two cases underline the CBI’s continuing action against alleged financial misconduct and corruption involving public institutions. While the arrest of the former postmaster has allowed the long-pending Odisha case to move forward, the Lucknow court’s conviction marks the conclusion of the trial against the former bank manager in the bribery case.
