Vadodara: If the agent approved by the government deceives investors, government institutions are responsible for returning money invested to customers.
This is an order issued by the district consumer forum that requests the postal department in Vadodara to return the money he invests along with interest.
Rajnikant Shah’s complainants and his wife Vinoda have approached the consumer forum in 2011 after the Post Department rejects their claims for the refund they have invested in the post scheme.
Senior citizens have invested Rs 4 Lakh in the postal monthly monthly income scheme of one and a half decades ago.
However, some agents that the department has approved the committed fraud with crores rupees and sucking investor money from the post scheme in 2010.
The CBI has investigated into fraud of Rs 2 Crore and also captures two agents.
Agents have cheatedly withdrawing money from the post scheme account by closing it.
But credit number is shown in this account on a computer with the help of several POS department employees.
Shah was also among the victims who were cheated and they approached the post department to get their money back.
However, they were told that they lost money because of their own negligence.
“The postal department believes that the complainants showed blind beliefs on agents and gave them their savings book.
It helped the defendant in forge the complainant signature and pulled all the money outside of their knowledge.
So, the postal department said that it was not their responsibility,” said Montu Pandya from Vadodara Grahak Surakha Mandal, co-compainant in this case.
“But we argue that the agent, who committed fraud, was approved by the government.
Also, before releasing money, post officials must verify the signature of investors.
But in this case, they did not verify the signature forged by the defendant.
So the post department is responsible To return the money invested, “added Pandya.
The consumer forum has directed the POS department to return the money invested with eight percent interest.
This forum has also ordered the insurance company Department of Post to provide RS 5,000 towards mental suffering and RS 5,000 to litigation expenditure to complainants.