Postman stashes 6,000 letters over 10 years

Orissa - He was fired from his job.

A postman in India was suspended after he failed to deliver 6,000 letters and packages, some dating back to 2014.
The man, Jagannath Puhan, worked as a postman in the Odhanga village of Orissa.
According to the BBC, the event came to light after a group of children found a stash of letters and packages in an abandoned post office while playing.
The children found ATM cards, bank passbooks and other important packages in the stash following which they informed their parents and a case was registered.
"We have managed to salvage over 1,500 letters in two days. But more than half of 6,000 letters that Puhan did not deliver have either turned soggy or eaten by termites and cannot be delivered at all," Sarbeswar Mishra, superintendent of Bhadrak postal circle told Hindustan Times.
"I have suspended him after it was found that he (Puhan) had committed gross dereliction of duty as well as breach of trust. Further disciplinary action, including dismissal, would be taken after inquiry," he added.
"While he delivered the registered letters, money orders, speed posts and Aadhaar cards, for which record has to be maintained, he seems to have chucked ordinary letters as no such records are maintained...," said a senior postal official, adding that Puhan chose what to deliver and junk smartly.

• India