Couple siphons off Rs 4 crore meant for postal deposits

Vadodara: A couple working as post office agents at Vejalpur post office in Panchmahal was arrested on Saturday for swindling deposits to the tune of Rs 3.8 crore of the customers.

Police had received complaint against Bhaveshkumar Suthar and his wife Sonal Suthar from the post department alleging that they had siphoned Rs 4.2 lakh of three depositors by forging fake receipts and signatures on the passbooks between August and December last year.

Based on the complaint, cops had registered an offence of cheating and forgery against the duo and initiated a search.

The couple was arrested from Nadiad by the local crime branch and local police. During questioning, their admission of crime shocked the police as the couple confessed to have duped around 36 persons living in the villages of Kalol taluka. “They have admitted of taking Rs 3.8 crores from the victims by claiming this amount as post deposits, but they neither opened accounts of these people nor deposited the money,” said a police official.

Bhaveshkumar told police that they used money for their personal expenses and invested huge amount in stock markets. “We are yet to get details of their transactions and we are also expecting more victims to come forward with their complaints,” the police official said.

A local court has granted the couple’s custody to police for eight days.