Kathmandu, September 8

A postwoman at the General Post Office, Sundhara has admitted to stealing signed blank cheques from a mail that she was meant to deliver to a recipient.

The Metropolitan Police Crime Division made public the unethical professional conduct of Poonam Dahal, 33, a resident of Changunarayan, Bhaktapur, after the arrest of suspects, including the postwoman, yesterday.

Poonam, who was said to have an unusual habit of scanning every mail that came to her for delivery, had lately hidden a postal package that contained signed bank cheques sent by Suresh Pun from Finland to Bhum Kumari Pun and withdrew Rs 500,000 from the Everest Bank.

The mail addressed to Bhim Kumari was sent on July 17. A letter sent from a foreign country generally reaches the recipient within 10 days. After the addressee did not receive the mail even after three weeks, Bhim Kumari and her father-in-law Tha Bahadur, made an enquiry at the New Road branch of Everest Bank on August 10. The bank officials told them that Devika Karki, a cheque bearer, had cashed the cheque.

The Pun family then filed a complaint against Karki, 32, of Jhule-8, Dolakha and the MPCD nabbed the accused. During interrogation, Karki told the investigators that she cashed the cheque from the Surya Binayak branch of the Everest Bank at the behest of Suman Dahal, 30, of Bhangunarayan, Bhaktapur, after the latter promised to give her Rs 15,000 for the work. A copy of the citizenship certificate produced by Karki at the time of cashing the cheque and a CCTV footage received from from the bank helped the police arrest Karki.

Subsequently, the MPCD arrested Suman, who said that Poonam, his sister-in-law, stole the cheque from a mail and gave it to him.

He also explained that Poonam used to hide mails that contained cash, bank cheque and other valuables. The trio has been charged under the Banking Offence and Punishment Act, 2006 and Postal Act, 1963.