KOCHI: At a time when letterboxes of the postal department are becoming a rarity, a letterbox has been reported stolen from Kanjiramattom. The department has sought the assistance of the police to trace the missing box.
Following a complaint from the Kanjiramattom post office, the Mulanthuruthy police registered a case on Thursday and launched an investigation. A police officer said the theft might have occurred a few weeks ago.
“The red letterbox, with pincode 682315 inscribed on it, was placed at a bus waiting shelter near Kanjiramattom railway station. A postman regularly collected letters from it, though it was rarely used. When he arrived to open it two weeks ago, the letterbox was missing. Despite attempts by postal department officials, it could not be found,” the officer said.
The police suspect the involvement of scrap collectors behind the theft, as metal objects fetch a good price. “We will question scrap dealers in the area and explore other possibilities. Since the bus shelter is rarely used during night, we are also investigating whether anti-social elements were involved,” the officer added.
With the shift to digital communication, letterboxes — once common in public spaces a few decades ago — are disappearing now. Thefts of metal objects, including steel bars, vehicle batteries, and cables, have been rising in the district. In most of the cases, suspects have been scrap collectors from Tamil Nadu. Several migrant women have also been arrested for stealing metal objects from construction sites.