RANCHI: In a case of alleged negligence, a postman is accused of failing to deliver important documents, including Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and bank cheque books, and instead storing them at his residence for nearly a year.
The matter came to light after several residents complained that they had not received their documents despite the issuing authorities dispatching them to the correct addresses. Acting on the repeated complaints, the Postal Department initiated an inquiry.
During the investigation, officials searched the postman's residence and allegedly recovered hundreds of undelivered letters and parcels, triggering a stir within the department.
The incident occurred at the Pithoria Post Office, a few kilometres from Ranchi, where the postman, Vikas Kumar, allegedly kept hundreds of postal articles at his residence instead of delivering them to their intended recipients. Prima facie, officials found that he had failed to deliver mail for nearly a year.
When questioned, Vikas Kumar allegedly failed to explain his negligence, claiming he could not locate the addresses and therefore kept the letters and parcels at his residence.
According to Postal Inspector Deepak Kumar, the postman has been suspended after the allegations were confirmed in a departmental inquiry.
"There were complaints that people were not receiving documents sent by various authorities. Following an inquiry, it was found that the postman, Vikas Kumar of the Pithoria Post Office, had not been delivering them to their addresses for quite some time and was instead keeping them at his residence," the postal inspector said.
He added that the postman has been suspended with immediate effect for gross negligence and that a departmental inquiry has been ordered for further action.
The postal inspector said the recovered mail included Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, banking documents, insurance-related papers, government notices and other important correspondence. Some of the documents had already crossed their validity deadlines, causing financial and administrative difficulties for the recipients.
Meanwhile, the postal inspector said all the recovered postal articles were delivered to their respective addresses within 48 hours, and the post office is now functioning normally.