Union Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said he has sought a report from the postal department in connection with the alleged embezzlement of about Rs 93 lakh deposits at a post office in Odisha's Malkangiri district.
The minister said that he has asked the authorities to submit the report within 30 days.
"I have spoken to the authorities today. Stern action will be taken against the post office staffers who are allegedly involved in the misappropriation of depositors' money," Vaishnaw, also the railway minister, told reporters on the sidelines of the BJP's ''Jan Ashirwad Yatra'' in Koraput district.
The alleged fraud occurred at Lachipeta sub-post office between August 2019 and December 2020, an official with knowledge of the matter said.
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Vaishnaw, who also holds the electronics and information technology portfolio, sought the report from the postal department after a group of depositors whose money was misappropriated made a representation to him.
The CBI had registered a case against three people, including a postal department officer. The central agency had also raided the house of the prime accused and seized some incriminating documents.
The postal department, which falls under the ministry of communications, came to know about the fraud during the annual inspection of Lachipeta sub-post office on December 31 last year, the official said.