The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against five employees of the Gandhi Nagar Head Post Office in Jammu for allegedly siphoning funds from dormant savings accounts belonging to a deceased woman. This case marks the second time in recent months that the Gandhi Nagar post office has come under investigation for similar fraudulent activities.
The accused, identified in the FIR as Sadaf Gulzar, Surinder Singh, Karun Sharma, Joginder Singh, and Amita — all serving as Postal Assistants — are facing charges related to cheating, conspiracy, falsification of accounts, and criminal misconduct. Additional unnamed individuals are also under investigation.
The alleged scam involved the fraudulent closure of three savings accounts owned by Rani Fotedar, a senior citizen who passed away on February 23, 2011. The accounts — bearing the numbers 0783869052, 0783869025, and 0783869007 — had remained inactive since her death. According to CBI sources, the accused employees illegally closed these accounts in September 2022, over a decade after Fotedar’s death, and diverted the funds to another savings account (No. 010031859539) fraudulently registered in her name. The funds were then withdrawn in cash.
The investigation began after a formal complaint was lodged by Ankush Bhagat, Senior Superintendent of the Jammu Post Office Division. The CBI FIR, filed under Sections 120-B, 420, and 477-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 13 (1) (a) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018), outlines the scope of the alleged criminal conspiracy.
The Gandhi Nagar Head Post Office has attracted attention from CBI investigators since August, when a similar case emerged involving the misappropriation of over Rs. 23.36 lakh from a Public Provident Fund (PPF) account. In that case, a PPF account was illegally closed in May 2023, and funds were similarly withdrawn. Interestingly, the same group of postal employees has been implicated in both cases.
CBI sources report that the agency has already conducted searches at the residences of the accused, collecting evidence to further substantiate the allegations. The accused individuals are expected to face questioning in the coming days as part of the investigation.
(Inputs from IANS)
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