Stamps not only functions as the facilitators of communication but also depict the culture and history of a country.
Recently, however, a postal department based in Kanpur circulated postage stamps featuring notorious gangsters Chhota Rajan and Munna Bajrangi.
On investigation, the Postmaster General VK Varma confessed that the blunder was due to a clerical error.
How This Stamp Got Issued
The recent scheme “My Stamp” run by the India Post, allows anyone to order customised postage stamps just by filling a simple form and showing a government issued identity card and it only costs Rs. 300 for every stamp sheet.
“My Stamp” was an initiative to promote stamps and was started during the World Philatelic Exhibition “INDIPEX-2011”.
According to this scheme, the requester can provide a hard or soft copy of the photos they want to publish and it can range from their own photo to that of someone they know or it can also include other photographs like a particular logo or symbol or a heritage place etc.
The stamps with the photos of gangsters Chhota Rajan and Munna Bajrangi were issued through this scheme by an anonymous person.
A lot of stamps featuring Rajan and Bajrangi were printed, thus causing major embarrassment to the postal department.
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The Investigation
As per the statement by Kanpur police, these stamps were issued through proper procedure and further information about the applicant and the postal department employee who approved these disputed stamps will be checked.
If the people involved are found guilty, strict legal action will be taken against them.
Statement By Postal Department
Rajneesh Kumar, philately department in-charge, was suspended for negligence. He was supervising the “My Stamp” department at the post office and was responsible for issuing the stamps without proper inspection.
As per the statement released by Postmaster General VK Varma, “We have also issued show-cause notices to some other employees in this regard. Efforts are on to zero in on the person who got the photographs of the criminals printed. It has been decided to take strict measures in the future to ensure such errors are not repeated.”
The applicant has still not been identified, but according to a report by The Hindu, the applicant had requested this controversial stamp to uncover the flaws in the scheme.
Notorious gangster Munna Bajrangi was serving sentence at Baghpat jail where he was killed in July 2018 by another gangster Sunil Rathi. Chhota Rajan was caught in 2015 and is currently in Mumbai jail.
Image Sources: Google Images
Sources: The Hindu, Scroll, The Indian Express
Find the Blogger: @aditi_21gupta
This post is tagged under: Kanpur, Postal department, Stamps, Clerical Error, stamps featuring notorious gangsters, Chhota Rajan, Munna Bajrangi, VK Varma, My Stamp, India Post, World Philatelic Exhibition, INDIPEX-2011, anonymous, philately, Baghpat jail, Mumbai jail
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