Depositors protest at Sirhind Post Office over alleged agent fraud

Today, a sizable gathering of furious depositors gathered in front of the Sirhind Post Office, believing that two saving agents had “duped” them out of crores of rupees. They insisted on getting their money back and said that despite their repeated complaints, the police were unable to apprehend the con artists.

Swindled depositors, including Jitender Singh, Sukhwant Singh, Avtar Singh, and Sushil Kumar, told The Tribune that they had been conned out of a “huge sum of money” by post office agents Mandeep Rana and Kiran Bala, who lived in Sirhind. They claimed to have established post office savings accounts with these agents and to have paid them monthly contributions into their post office accounts. They alleged that instead of depositing the money, the agents returned their passbooks with fictitious post office stamps.

The complainants claimed that the scam was discovered when they attempted to withdraw money from their accounts at the post office following the scheme’s completion and were informed that there was none. They further claimed that upon presenting their passbooks bearing stamps from the post office, they were informed that the stamps were fictitious and that no money had been deposited. They said that despite complaints being made to higher-ups at the post office and the police, nothing was done.

A post office employee named Priya said that the department has been alerted of the situation and that Kiran Bala’s agency’s license has been revoked. She also mentioned that Mandeep Rana’s license is being revoked.

When contacted, agents Mandeep Rana and Kiran Bala said that they had been working with a guy for a number of years who handled deposits; the depositors used to place money with him, but they were unsure whether the money was really being put or not. They said that as soon as the situation became apparent, they reported their employee to the police.