Court orders summons for 13 Rajbari post office staff over 9.2 million taka embezzlement case
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A court in Rajbari has ordered 13 individuals, including the local head postmaster, to appear before it on November 3 following allegations of embezzling approximately 9.2 million taka from savings account customers. The Rajbari Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court issued the summons on Thursday after hearing a case filed by victim Nasrin Akter under sections 406 and 420 of the Penal Code.
The lawsuit alleges that a syndicate led by letter writer Shihab Mridha, with the active assistance of postal officials, defrauded 61 customers by collecting funds under the guise of opening savings accounts. Prosecutors state that the accused utilized official office seals on plain paper to solicit the money, which was subsequently misappropriated rather than deposited into the national treasury.
Among the 13 individuals named in the suit are Postmaster Bikash Chandra Biswas, various postal operators, treasurers, and additional staff members. The primary suspect, Shihab Mridha, held a non-permanent position as a “letter writer”—a role not officially recognized as a government-salaried post—and has remained in hiding since the investigation began.
Questions regarding departmental oversight have surfaced following reports that Mridha was present at the facility during a preliminary inspection by Kushtia divisional postal officials on July 12 but was not handed over to law enforcement at that time. Following his subsequent disappearance, victims organized protests and human chains at the post office to demand the recovery of their savings.
The scandal has prompted multiple administrative responses. Postmaster Bikash Chandra Biswas has since been transferred to Kushtia, while two separate four-member committees were formed by the Khulna regional and Kushtia divisional postal offices to investigate the systemic failure. The Kushtia committee submitted its findings on July 22.
The newly appointed Rajbari head postmaster, Shamim Ahmed, confirmed that the accused letter writer had been operating as an informal assistant since 2021. He noted that the matter is currently under review by senior postal authorities, with further legal actions pending the completion of official departmental inquiries.
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