The letters recovered from the scrap dealer in Indore. Telegraph picture

Indore, July 4: Next time you don’t get your letters, look for the neighbourhood raddiwallah (scrap dealer). Chances are you will find them.

Residents of Ward 59 in Indore yesterday recovered letters, legal notices, bank statements, telephone bills and insurance intimations from a scrap dealer, Azam, near the Navlakha bus stand.

Azam handed over postal material weighing over 3kg.

The scrap dealer said someone had sold him raddi (scrap) at Rs 6 a kg. “Since I cannot read or write, I took it as waste paper. But later, when I showed it to someone, he said they were important mails.”

Councillor Arvind Bagdi said he became suspicious when some residents complained that they had not been receiving mail. “The scrap vendor then informed us that postal materials have been sold at his shop,” he said.

Station house inspector Arun Mishra, who has confiscated the postal material, spared Azam and said his cooperation was important in the identification of the postmen.

“The waste paper dealer has claimed he would easily identify the person who sold it to him,” said Mishra, adding that the law was “silent” on the quantum of punishment for such crimes. According to the Indian Postal Act, 1885, however, Azam can be punished for keeping “unauthorised property”.

The postal department has ordered a probe. “Indian Post is synonymous with trust. This (incident), the first of its kind in my 20-year service, is aimed at causing breach of trust,” said Madhuri Dabral, the GPO director.

A two-member inquiry committee of postal officials will submit a report tomorrow.

The director appeared to be sympathetic towards Azam. But she also said: “I do not think a person responsible for distributing post in the same area would dare do such a thing.”

First, she explained, he stands to gain nothing from Rs 18 or so. Second, he would be caught immediately.

Moreover, postmen are reasonably paid. A postman who is in Grade C of the central government service gets a salary of around Rs 3,050-5,000. But with incentives thrown in, he takes home around Rs 10,000-12,000 a month, she said.

Rival courier agencies are also under scrutiny.

A postal official said private courier services stand to gain a lot if Indian Post loses public faith. “Contrary to popular perception, we handle the bulk of mail that goes to big cities and metros via Speed Post,” the official said.

The director expressed confidence that the case would be solved soon as the incident occurred recently. The letters recovered are dated after June 15.

She said her department had informed banks, LIC and other institutions to re-issue the documents and to waive late fees if possible. “In case this is not possible, the postal department will bear the costs.”