Hyderabad: The CBI has issued an FIR against top postal officials of Hyderabad, including senior superintendent of post offices in the city K. Sudheer Babu, for criminal conspiracy and fraudulent exchange of demonetised notes without requisition slips and without disbursing them to the general public.
The CBI’s Hyderabad unit booked the case under criminal conspiracy, criminal misconduct, criminal breach of trust, as also criminal breach of trust by a public servant, cheating and falsification of books of accounts. Apart from Mr Sudheer Babu, the other accused, Himayatnagar sub-postmaster G. Revathi and office assistant at the senior superintendent’s office G. Ravi Teja were named as the accused in the case.
On November 24, CBI sleuths along with postal vigilance found that certain grave irregularities had been committed during exchange of old currency notes for new. They conducted joint surprise checks across the city including at the Himayatnagar post office.
Cash given on phone call
On November 11, Mr Sudheer Babu sanctioned Rs 70 lakh to the Himayatnagar sub-post office for public exchange and withdrawal from accounts. On November 12, Mr Ravi Teja, one of the accused, who was deputed for disbursement of new currency notes to post offices, collected Rs 1.59 crore for distribution at 11 post offices including Rs 70 lakh in Rs 2,000 denomination at Himayatnagar.
According to the FIR, Mr Sudheer Babu handed over a bag containing Rs 36 lakh in old notes to Mr Ravi Teja, asking him to hand over the same to Himayatnagar sub-postmaster G. Revathi.
It is alleged that Mr Sudheer Babu took Rs 36 lakh of new notes from Mr Ravi Teja out of the Rs 70 lakh earmarked for the Himayatnagar sub-post office in exchange for old notes.
On November 12, Ms Revathi allegedly received telephonic instructions from Mr Sudheer Babu about the same. In the treasury cash book the cash disbursal was attributed to “oral instruction from senior superintendent of post offices over the phone”.
During surprise checks it was found that though Rs 74.7 lakh had been exchanged against old notes, there were only 984 request slips amounting to Rs 38.45 lakh. This exposed the fraud.
The CBI, in the FIR, alleged that Mr Sudheer Babu had criminally conspired with Ms Revathi, Mr Ravi Teja and other public servants and private persons. He abused official position and fraudulently exchanged currency notes meant for the general public, it alleged.
