Dalit Sub-Postmaster Alleges Casteist Abuse By Co-Worker Before He Dies By Suicide

The sub-postmaster, who was identified as Rahul, was suspended for one month on charges of embezzlement of Rs 2.5 crore.

Bulandshahr: A Dalit sub-postmaster, who was suspended for one month on charges of embezzlement, died by suicide in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr on Sunday. A day before, he was grilled by the CBI for about six hours. Before his death, the person wrote a letter to his family members, alleging that an officer employed at the office where he used to work, victimised him. He has also accused him of casteist abuse and torture.

The case is of the railway line located in Girdhari Nagar of City Kotwali. The sub-postmaster, who was identified as Rahul, was suspended for one month on charges of embezzlement of Rs 2.5 crore. In the letter, Rahul mentioned that he came to know about the relationship between his co-worker and the woman. The officials were angry with him about this, Rahul wrote in his letter.

"He used casteist words and abused me. He has written - I was suspended by the divisional office team on 26 November. Till 23 November, out of 5599 registries, 3,600 registries were pending, whereas 1,766 registries had been dispatched. Postage stamps were put on all the envelopes by others, but the blame was put on me. Earlier, an investigation was done in the Dibai fake postage stamp case, but no FIR was lodged against anyone, nor was anyone suspended. Whereas in my case, an immediate CBI inquiry was conducted. I was deliberately targeted." he wrote in the letter.

He further wrote, "I worked with honesty and dedication for 14 years, but an inquiry was conducted against me on caste basis. The officers of the divisional office are responsible for my death." The first FIR in this case was lodged in July. In the complaint, postmaster TP Singh, sub-postmaster Rahul Kumar, clerk Gopal and a fourth-class employee were named. All four were accused of corruption and irregularities. After this, the CBI got involved in the case. CBI Ghaziabad's Anti Corruption Unit raided the main post office of Bulandshahr city on July 20. The documents were examined for 10 hours.

The investigation also revealed that fraud was committed by using fake stamps worth Rs 2,50,91000 crore in the booking of mail (registered, speed post and parcel). The allegations were levelled against the postal superintendent, sub postmaster, clerk and a Class IV employee. After this, all three were suspended on November 26.

Suicide is not a solution: If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 9152987821, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.