Siliguri, Aug. 8: An interview call letter posted here reached Biswanath Chakraborty, who lives 5 km away from the Siliguri Post Office a month and four days later. The interview was over and the job lost for a man who desperately needed it.

That is the story of 33-year-old Biswanath Chakraborty who lives at Shantinagar under Dabgram post office. Chakraborty blames the post office, which has been promising same-day service to the people.

On July 24, Chakraborty was handed over a letter from the Siliguri branch office of Life Insurance Corporation, asking him to attend a group discussion on June 26 at 10.30 am at the LIC branch office at Pradhannagar.

It would be the final screening for LIC career agents.

Chakraborty, who worked at a shop, realised that he had missed his first ever opportunity to bag a government job.

The letter was posted at Pradhannagar post office by LIC under certificate of posting on June 20.

“I was shocked when I opened the letter. I realised that the interview date mentioned in the letter was gone and I had lost the job. I just did not know what to do with the letter and how to undo what had happened,” said an angry Chakraborty, who had already exceeded the age limit for any government job.

“I made up my mind to give it a second try. I walked up to the LIC office to tell them about the postal delay, but there I heard from the manager that the final recruitment was over,” said Chakraborty, with an empty look in his eyes.

“The manager told me that I was very unfortunate and all the candidates who participated in the group discussion on June 26 had been selected and that their training period were almost over,” added Chakraborty.

“I needed the job desperately. It would have fetched me a salary of Rs 2,500 with a commission at the end of the month. It is simply because of the negligence of the postal department that I missed it,” he said.

The youth has met the postmaster general at Siliguri head post office to seek an alternative source of income to support his family of four.

“The PMG has assured me that he will get an inquiry done through the superintendent of post office, Darjeeling. But more than anything else, I need a job,” said Chakraborty.

Director of Siliguri Head Post Office M.B. Sarang said mails sent under certificate of posting were treated as normal posts and hence there was no question of compensation. “I personally do not have any information about the incident. In such cases, the complaints have to be launched with the superintendent of post office, Darjeeling. If the letter does not reach at all, the postal department is liable to compensate the complainant. But in this case, the letter was delivered and so we cannot make it up to him that way.”