Hyderabad: The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested four persons — two postal employees and two mediators — in connection with the postal cash exchange scam in the city. The arrested were identified as Shaik Abdul Ghani, G. Ravi Teja, K. Suresh Kumar and G. Srinivas, all postal employees of the Hyderabad City division.
Ravi Teja is office assistant to prime accused senior superintendent K Sudheer Babu, who is still absconding. The four men were produced in the CBI special court at Nampally.
The CBI issued a third first information report in the fraud that involved three post offices, regarding a Rs 1.2-crore exchange fraud at Karwan Sahu post office in the city. Sudheer Babu and two other officials, sub post master P Sampath Kumar and cash overseer Syed Etheshamuddin were named.
FIRs have also booked regarding the Rs 1.3 crore fraud case at Golconda and the Rs 36 lakh case in Himayatnagar.
In the three cases taken together, a total of Rs 2.95 crore meant for disbursement to the general public at various post offices was fraudulently exchanged for the demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes.
Sudheer Babu is an accused in all three cases. Others named in the cases, who are yet to be arrested, are sub-postmasters G. Revathi (Himayatnagar), M. Govinda Rao (Golconda) and Sampat Kumar (Karwan Sahu).
Searches were conducted at 11 places in residential and office locations of the accused persons. Documents, laptops, mobile phones and cash to the tune of Rs 17.02 lakh in new currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination were seized.
Vigilance teams of the postal department have checked 35 post offices across Telangana State and submitted a report to postal headquarters. The report will be forwarded to the CBI for further action.
