Postman suspended for failing to deliver letters

A 59-year-old postman in Tamil Nadu was suspended after it was discovered that he had kept about a thousand mails, including Aadhaar cards, undelivered in his residence for the past nine months.

Postal Department sources here said postman Palaniswamy, attached to Pogalur post office in Coimbatore district, was working over the last 30 years. Following complaints from residents and students in the locality that they had not been receiving letters and other communications during the last seven months; the Postal Department launched a hunt and found that Palaniswamy was guilty of not delivering the mail intended for his route.

In an operation conducted on Tuesday, the accused postman was trapped by a Postal Department team that found more than thousand undelivered letters including more than 300 Aadhaar cards.

The mails were kept in gunny bags at his residence. 

"We also recovered several interview letters, insurance companies' communiqué, bank statements, monthly magazines and even temple "Prasadams" from his house", a senior Postal Department official said here.

He said all the undelivered mails were dated between January and December 2014.
Initial investigation revealed that Palaniswamy, who had a good service record, was said to be in depression due to personal reasons.

On getting a detailed report of the activities of the accused, the Postal Department ordered his immediate suspension from service. "We have also recommended departmental enquiry into this incident ", the official said.