200 defrauded of Rs 9 crore in postal scam

Mumbai: A postal scheme scam, in which around 200 people were duped for about Rs 9 crore, has come to light. The accused allegedly posed as a postal scheme agent and carried out the scam along with her in the Postal Office of Mira Road.

In the scam, which was allegedly going on for six months, Seema Gode, the accused, started approaching people and asked them to deposit Rs 2,400 every month in a recurring account, sources said. The victims invested their hard earned money in a scheme named ‘Kisan Vikas Patra’, only to realise later that it was a fraud. One of the investors was June Lobo, a senior citizen from Mira Road, who was saving up the money for her daughter Natasha’s wedding.

Ms Lobo said, “My Postal Scheme was to be matured on November 5, but when I did not hear from Seema for over a month, I was worried sick and decided to visit the Post Office on November 7 to claim the money myself. When I reached the Post Office, I was surprised to see that the account has been wiped clean and there weren’t any traces of my account or the money”.

Ms Lobo said when she asked for details, she was shocked to hear that Gode’s aide Fazlin Shaikh, who used to deposit the money for Gode in banks, had withdrawn all the money in her account.

Ms Lobo went to the Post Office again the next day, only to find 20 more people who had the same grievances of being duped by the accused. The victims then decided to lodge a complaint against Gode and her aide at Naya Nagar police station in Mira Road, but were asked to approach the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Thane since the amount involved was above Rs 50 lakh.

The victims then approached a lawyer and drafted a letter to the EOW on December 8 and met the SP Dr Mahesh Patil, with whom they shared their problem. When The Asian Age contacted Dr Patil on Friday, he said, “The victims of fraud have approached me today and the investigation will be done after the case is registered.” Dr Patil was unavailable for comment on Saturday.

While sources said Gode has been located and is under detention, the police did not confirm this. The case is still under investigation and Gode’s aide Shaikh is on the run.