Lucknow: For Rs 57.60, he suffered for 29 years and has been finally exonerated by court after 350 hearings.
Umakant Misra was a postman working at the Harjinder Nagar Post office in Kanpur in the 1980s. On July 13, 1984, he was accused of pocketing a money order for Rs 57.60 and a case was registered against him after which he was also suspended from the job.
Losing his livelihood, Mishra could not educate his children and the family often had to go without food. He could not find another job because of the case against him.
“My life and that of my children has been ruined because of this case and the fact that the court has now exonerated me of the charges, holds no meaning. I attended the 350 hearings, kept pleading that I was innocent but no one would listen to me,” he said.
Officials in the postal department are unwilling to comment on the case. An official said that the matter was no longer in their purview. “Perhaps, the higher official will decide what is to be done in this case,” said an official said.
Social activists are now demanding compensation for Umakant Misra. “He should be given salary for this entire period, along with allowances and increments and his children should be given jobs,” said Sheila Yadav, a social worker.
