Korpana postmaster held for embezzling Rs 1.14 lakh from savers
A former branch postmaster in Chandrapur district's Korpana taluka has been booked for pocketing depositors' money instead of crediting it to their accounts.
A major fraud has come to light at the post office in Kolashi (Khurd) village in Korpana taluka of Chandrapur district. The branch postmaster then posted there allegedly pocketed a total of Rs 1,14,000 belonging to account holders. Money was collected from people in the name of savings accounts, fixed deposits and the Sukanya Samriddhi scheme, but the amount was never credited in government records. Following an inquiry by the postal department, a case of fraud has been registered at Korpana police station against the accused, Vivek Bansode, and police are investigating further.
The story of how the case came to light is an interesting one. Vivek Balu Bansode, 28, a native of Bhimnagar, Sangola in Solapur district, worked as branch postmaster at the Kolashi (Khurd) post office from September 2022 to March 2025. On March 25, 2025, he applied for medical leave, which was not sanctioned. The very next day, after local residents said the post office was shut, sub-divisional postal inspector Anil Govindrao Tekam and postal supervisor Mithun Tonge reached the spot. They found the office locked. Senior officials were informed, after which the office was opened in the presence of witnesses (panchas) and the documents there were scrutinised closely.
The inquiry found that forms and receipts filled out for opening new customer accounts had simply been left lying at the office. Among these, Rs 1 lakh collected from Usha Gulab Paytade for a fixed deposit account, and money collected from other account holders for Sukanya scheme and savings accounts, had never been deposited into the government account. In addition, in cases of closed recurring deposit (RD) accounts, money had been collected from account holders and receipts issued to them bearing an authorised signature and stamp. However, as per rules, none of this amount was ever reflected in the postal department's daily accounts. The departmental inquiry established that the accused postmaster had embezzled the full Rs 1,14,000 for personal gain.
After the postal department completed its detailed inquiry, postal inspector Anil Tekam filed a formal complaint at Korpana police station on September 18, 2026, based on the original documents. On the basis of this complaint, Korpana police have registered a case against the accused, Vivek Bansode, under sections 316(5) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Sub-inspector Sandeep Jamadar is investigating the case further under the supervision of station house officer Lata Wadiwe. There is strong anger in the area over a post office employee allegedly making off with the hard-earned savings of poor villagers.
